Also there are strong hints that there are other offenses not yet charged which could be leveled in state courts, out of reach of POTUS’ pardon power.
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Boom goes the dynamite 
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If I recall the filings correctly, they also used their own lock when they left after the look-see.
And what in the world would stop those people from killing him anyway at some point in the future while he’s a sitting duck in prison? It’s a lot easier to get to someone in prison than in WitSec.
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I totally buy that. And these people are all craven, soulless assholes. I’ve had bosses like that where if the FBI showed up I’d have gleefully helped them carry out the boxes. “Oh, hey, Mr. FBI Guy, don’t forget this one. Also, here are the addresses for all of his properties, his secret love nest, his girlfriend’s place…”
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Frustrating (and expensive) as hell when nothing sticks to the wall.
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Obviously the opportunity would be there.
But murdering someone always creates the risk of getting caught. If the motive was to avoid detection, and the target wasn’t talking, that’s counterproductive.
Yeah I figured the judge would.
BWAAAAAHAHahaahahahahaha
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What the matter, Paulie? Got a head in a jar in there…
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And yet it happens all the time. As long as he’s alive he remains a threat. A guy like Manafort may think he can do life, but after the brothas and hermanos in prison get to him in maximum security he may have a very big change of heart. Anyone with exposure has got to know that too. Manafort isn’t Webay. He’s not even D’Angelo.
I’m all for excluding evidence when it’s been improperly obtained. In fact I think the courts have gone way too far in allowing evidence seized in questionable searches to nonetheless be used in court.
But when this motion to exclude was first reported on, I couldn’t find a single, solitary thing that the agents did wrong in this case. Apparently neither could this judge.
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Correct me if I’m wrong but is seem to recall, after the lease in question was plastered all over the internet, the employee was more than merely “on the lease”…
Manafort in his usual arrogance, had the employee lease the shed and the employee was the actual lease holder, Manafort was named as an “authorized user” or some such, because Manafort thought he was the smartest smarty to ever smart.
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I bet Manafort’s going to find the “delay, delay, delay” strategy a lot less fun now that he’s sitting in jail waiting.
In fact I wonder if he’ll refrain from too many delaying tactics now, since his best bet at freedom is a pardon, and Giuliani says that’s not going to happen until the legal process is complete.
Of course there’s the risk he gets arrested on state charges the same day, and just gets transferred straight to detention in one of the states, likely New York. Which might be significantly more unpleasant than the place he’s in now.
Decisions, decisions.
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Your recollection is accurate. The employee was the lease holder. Manafort was listed as a person who had access to the unit.
I’ve seen it suggested that this was not some attempted cleverness on Manafort’s part where he was trying to insulate himself, but simply more convenient than going down there in person and signing it himself.
Honestly I find either scenario plenty plausible.
And I’m not sure which one is the more hilariously fitting fate for this slimeball – that he did himself in by trying to be clever, or that he did himself in by being lazy, arrogant, and “too important to mix with the little people.”
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The employee was being used as a cutout. Hence his name on the lease and his possession of the key. If he was a good cutout, he wouldn’t have known enough to know that this was an emergency. If he was a lousy cutout, he would have known enough to recognize that his boss was potentially leaving him as a fall guy for anything from a crushing legal bill to several decades of prison time.
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Stwike him, Centuwion. Vewy woughwy!
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I’m still hoping he flips, but I hear you - there are things he fears more than prison, and he certainly knows what Vlad’s boys are capable of. But if Mueller could protect Sammy the Bull, he can protect Paulie.
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I have the longest day of the year on which to savor this ruling. Solstice party! Talisker neat or Bulleit 10?
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Pauli Numbnuts is hell bent on challenging every every last bit of evidence in the Office of Special Counsel’s indictment.
How the hell is he paying for all of this? Are all of his lawyers pro bono? If not who is his sugar daddy?
Jeez, my storage unit just has stuff in it from my wedding 35 years ago, and a paIr of bikes.