Lock him up!
Okay, whoās running the betting pool?
I say he gets two years.
There was far too much disregard for the law to get no jail time. I mean Cohenās LIFESTYLE was to break the law for personal enrichment.
So, no less than two years, maybe up to five.
Poised? Heās sitting at the bench, gavel in hand, robes carefully arranged, hair all in place, waiting to intone the sentence? Somehow, I donāt think so.
Heās looking at 3 1/2 years tops? Thatās peanuts.
The Guardian is on the ground
Trumpās former lawyer Michael Cohen faces sentencing in New York ā live
Avenatti just showed up, declined to explain his presense.
Trump hush money: no charges for National Enquirer company over payments ā as it happened | Trump-Russia investigation | The Guardian
Who might that be ?
If youāre looking to work for a Democratic presidential campaign based on the West Coast, someone is hiring.
An unnamed campaign has job listings posted in Nevada, South Carolina and New Hampshire.
I havenāt seen an article yet on Flynnās sentencing memo, but I became enraged after reading it. I donāt really get what his attorneys thought they were doing by putting that piece of trash up there in front of the judge. If I were the judge, after reading that memo, Iād throw the book at Flynn and give him the max sentence less a partial discount for his cooperation.
His statement boils down to, āYeah, I lied. Yeah they caught me. But those FBI b*es set me up! They finā set me up! And Iām not like those other traitors. I didnāt give the OSC a hard time. I gave up everything without a fight and may have even gone undercover for your deep state asses. Enough of this st. Lemme get outta here and do some community service at a Boys N Girls club so I can get back into playing shape. Fk all yāall. Iām outta here. MAGA! Out!ā. He acts like his cooperation was a favor to the government when it was his duty to be loyal to his government and his country.
The memo is so poorly written that the only persuasive part of it are the references to the OSC memo as to why he shouldnāt get jail time. I also did not find the testimonials of his comrades in arms helpful for his case. Those individuals are honorable soldiers. They earned the right to call themselves patriots. Flynn is a traitor. He betrayed his nation and sold it out to Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. The contrast isnāt good for him in my view. In addition, Flynn had a potential 10 count indictment headed his way with charges involving attempted kidnapping. In a normal era and a normal scandal, a guy who did what he did would be in jail for a long while with benefits withdrawn. Mueller made all of that go away. Thereās no gratitude here. Thereās no remorse. Heās still a self-pitying MAGA traitor at heart.
I really donāt know why his attorneys wrote that memo. I wonder if theyāre trolling Flynn. Maybe they think heās an insufferable unremorseful dolt and they wanted the judge to know that. Maybe they came across a lot of stuff that the OSC decided to pass on charging b/c of all the good stuff they were getting but even they couldnāt stomach it. Or, maybe their client demanded to put this in because heās speaking to the public and looking to carve out a place in MAGA land when heās done with this. Whatever it was, I found it very disturbing. Iām sure Flynn gave up everything to Mueller to keep himself and his nutter kid out of jail, but he remains a dangerous figure in my view who needs to be watched long after this is over.
WHAT does this HAVE to do with TRUMP? Heās a loser. ONLY LOsers get caught. Heās a bad LAWYer, acting WITHOUT Trumpās consent and TRUMP hardly even knows him.He fetched diet COKES for TRUMp. Thatās it.
Just doing their job. You go to court with the client you have ā¦
I agree, but the establishmentās track record in this area is not encouraging. I understand there are practical difficulties (establishing probable cause, to name one), but practical difficulties are not the only reason we still have crooks even from āIran-Contraā days still showing up in government, on television, and so on.
Assuming for discussionās sake that Flynn gets off with very minimal sentence. As a General is he still subject to the UCMJ or did that cease when he accepted appointment to Trumpsās Admin?
In a sentencing memo, the important point is acceptance of responsibility and, if relevant, substantial assistance to the government. Thatās the moneymaker as far as Flynn is concerned. The āI was set upā routine runs contrary to acceptance of responsibility. The judge may ding him on that, weāll see.
All the character stuff where he honorably served his country for many years and so on is fine if you can make the case that the criminal behavior he is pleading to was aberrant conduct. Iām not so sure that works here. Itās also okay to do the family man routine, although everyone does that so the impact is minimal.
I would not be surprised if he gets some time.
I do not know. I doubt it since these acts were post-service. But perhaps he could be brought up on some review for having dishonored the uniform with his betrayal of the country in favor of Putin. What bothers me is that I donāt think there is political will in the military to call out Flynn for what he is, a traitor, and impose some kind of opprobrium, shame or badge of dishonor on him because heās a conservative white nationalist. I would like to be proven wrong on that.
Client #3 has been busy.
What are the odds heād get Bulgered in the joint?
Iāve always felt like this argument should be made for handing down a stiffer sentence. As with corrupt cops, pedophile priests and so forth, itās their reputations that they bank on to commit their crimes in the first place, and those crimes undermine the very institutions they were supposed to have served. Were I a judge (and had any knowledge of the law whatsoever) Iād throw the book at them. Every time.
People in late middle age rarely alter their essence. Using that logic alone, Flynn will not willingly change his. Probably Obama more than anyone is aware that Flynn is a smug joker. The FBI, of course, in onto why this memo was written the way it was and I agree with you that Flynn must be placed in a position (for the rest of his life) which dictates that his days of being someone under intense scrutiny have just started.