IANAL, but it seems to me if cops have a warrant to search your place for drugs, but end up coming across a stash kiddie porn instead, you’re not going to have much luck telling the judge that the charges should be dismissed because that’s not what they were there to look for. I imagine, too, that if Mueller comes across clear evidence that the Trump Org evaded taxes or laundered money while looking at Russia connections, that he likewise has to bring that to the grand jury.
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He might know he’s done. But he’s stuck between prison in America or taking a plea deal and potentially going free. But the testimony he’d have to give for freedom would likely get him a dusting by a Russian sugar plum fairy. I hear they use Novichok brand dust these days. So maybe prison isn’t so bad.
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“Manafort Asks Judge To Dismiss Mueller’s Indictment Against Him In DC”
Courtroom Scene:
Manafort/Manafort’s Attorney: “Your honor, the indictment against my client is a set of scurrilous lies. It should be dismissed forthwith. We ask you to do so.”
Judge: "The only scurrilous thing here is your client. Motion denied. Oh, and
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
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That is some weak, watery sauce. I hope Manafort enjoys prison. Maybe they’ll let him keep one of his dandy suits.
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Manafort is going to take the fall. He doesn’t want himself or his family to end up like Skirpal or any of the others tied to the Steele dossier. His family is probably going to be well cared for while he spends the rest of his life in Club Fed.
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It would work better if the exchange were for Ukrainians. Manafort has serious problems in Ukraine–They would love to get their hands on him.
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After observing Mueller’s thoughtful and precise methodology, it seems he’s establishing not only the crimes, but the motivations, beyond the shadow of a doubt. Manafort is pinned like a butterfly specimen on a board.
The opposite of the House Intelligence Committee, whose chairman is neck deep in shit and is desperately trying to spray the Febreze and declare “Nope. Not here. Nothing happened. Lalalalala …”
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I see your point, but it’s not a very good example. It all depends on the scope of the original search warrant. A defendant could likely get the stash of kiddie porn suppressed if the police went beyond the scope of their original authority.
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Putin is not so understanding. It would be polonium tea, not home-arrest bracelets for Paulie.
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At the very least, you’d think Manafort’s family would intervene just to save the entire estate from being spent on lawyers’ fees.
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Is it even possible that Skripal is a message intended not for Skripal, but for Manifort et al.? Why, all of a sudden, is Vlad on a poisoning and murdering spree?
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The only possible purpose here is to launch or fortify the narrative that Mueller has exceeded his brief and is acting in a partisan, vindictive way etc–the point being to rally Fox around that narrative and thus lay the foundation for a Trump pardon that can be spun along these lines. If I’m Manafort’s lawyer and understand that he won’t flip, I bet the house on the pardon and do whatever I can to kick up a fuss that my client is being railroaded.
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Off topic, but as a response …
Actually, there is precedent for some search limitations. The areas searched have to have a reasonable likelihood of finding the item(s) named in the warrant. If a warrant calls for searching for something the size of a piano, they can’t open dresser drawers looking for it. Any evidence found in that situation would not be admissible, even if the evidence found was a map with the caption “Here’s where the stolen piano is.” That’s why search warrants now usually come with a generic “and other related items” clause.
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This is, indeed, some seriously weak, desperate shit. Unless, of course, you look at it as a dog whistle pitched with exquisite perfection to trigger Donald Trump’s pardon reflex or, better still, his “fire Mueller” impulse.
“Very, very, very unfair. Totally beyond authority. Absolutely unauthorized. Disgusting. Terrible, just terrible. Believe me.”
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I am not aware of any case which says that a criminal defendant has an enforceable right to select which prosecutor within the United States Attorney’s Office charges him or her. I guess Manafort’s lawyers are just better than me.
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Snowden may be getting a new roommate.
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Is Mueller sharing money laundering info with Schniderman?
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I think we all hope he is. The problem with the Schneiderman theory, however, is that Schneiderman is confined by jurisdictional considerations and can’t connect the dots in the way that Mueller can in relation to Trump.
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He is 68 years old. Five to ten years is almost a death sentence. His lawyer has to insist on something better.
This seems to be a variation of “Fruit of the poisoned tree” as in this is fruit of a tree from a a different orchard?
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