I threw up in my mouth at that characterization of Manafort’s “dirty tricks for dictators” business. I think the judge will be entirely unswayed by that too – it’s aimed more at the court of public opinion Vis a Vis Fox News, methinks
His attorneys claimed in the sentencing memo filed Monday that Manafort had been “widely vilified in a manner that this country has not experienced in decades.”
Yeah, right. Lock him up.
The memo criticized the “harsh tactics” prosecutors used against Manafort that “are usually employed in organized crime cases,
Well, yeah.
Manafort’s lawyers, only the best.
That is not going to fly.
You gotta admit these attorneys should write for network sitcoms:
“The Special Counsel’s attempt to portray him as a lifelong and irredeemable felon is beyond the pale and grossly overstates the facts before this Court,” Manafort’s sentencing memo filed Monday said.
Now that’s funny! 
Another Republican snowflake. Everyone’s being so mean to him; it’s really unfair!
Going DOWN you SOB, Hard. “No soup for you.”
clearly they don’t understand who they’re dealing with in ABJ … Manafort is doing the same thing that Flynn’s lawyers (and Flynn) did - gin up a fake entrapment scenario that will only serve to piss off the judge. Throw the book at him - fuck, throw every book in the library at him.
The memo also included as exhibits several letters from Manafort’s family and colleagues.
Ok, who were the people crazy enough to say “Hey federal prosecutors! Over here! Look at me! Meeeeeee!”
Also wanna note that once he is completely sentenced (both courts) the commutation option opens up. Gets him out of jail while preserving his 5th amendment rights for the crimes he was convicted of. State prosecutors better be ready.
Christ, what a pathetic argument. Here’s a guy who represented the slimiest of the slimy foreign despots, hid millions of dollars from the IRS, laundered money overseas and at home, obstructed justice by tampering with witnesses while out on bail, and lied to prosecutors after seeking a plea deal. And his lawyers paint him as a model citizen?
Oh, and there’s no collusion, they remind the man in the Oval Office. (Wink, wink.)
Read the sentencing memo from Mueller:
"Manafort committed an array of felonies for over a decade, up through the fall of 2018. Manafort chose repeatedly and knowingly to violate the law— whether the laws proscribed garden-variety crimes such as tax fraud, money laundering,obstruction of justice, and bank fraud, or more esoteric laws that he nevertheless was intimately familiar with, such as the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). His criminal actions were bold, some of which were committed while under a spotlight due to his work as the campaign chairman and,
later, while he was on bail from this Court.
“And the crimes he engaged in while on bail were not minor; they went to the heart of the criminal justice system, namely, tampering with witnesses so he would not be held accountable for his crimes. Even after he purportedly agreed to cooperate with the government in September 2018, Manafort, as this court found, lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), this office, and the grand jury. His deceit, which is a fundamental component of the crimes of conviction and relevant conduct, extended to tax preparers, bookkeepers, banks, the Treasury Department, the Department of Justice National Security Division, the FBI, the Special Counsel’s Office, the grand jury, his own legal counsel, Members of Congress, and members of the executive branch of the United States government.”
I hope these are pro bono lawyers, because Manafort’s overpaying if they’re billing by the hour.
Bye Bye Paulie
“And I would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for those meddling kids and their nutsy dog!!”
“Indeed, it is fair to say that, but for the appointment of the Special Counsel and his Office’s decision to pursue Mr. Manafort for a rarely prosecuted FARA violation, Mr. Manafort would not have been indicted in the District of Columbia,”
Indeed, it’s fair to say that if Manafort hadn’t been caught, he wouldn’t have been prosecuted and that therefore, judge, you should go easy on him.
Hie lawyers defended Manafort’s consulting work in Ukraine, and more broadly Manafort’s career, with his attorneys claiming that Manafort had spent “a lifetime promoting American democratic values and assisting emerging democracies to adopt reforms necessary to become a part of Western society.
Yes, judge, you should also go easy on him for promoting democratic reforms and helping out the West by, among other things, helping to trigger protests in Ukraine that got a bunch of non-oligarchs killed, thereby getting rid of some low-class mooches that don’t create jobs.
To be fair, he probably didn’t commit any felonies before the age of sixteen, so “lifelong” would be overstating the case. Before he was twenty, in the Nixon administration, he committed felonies, though, including conspiracy to violate United States law and subverting the Constitution.
For two separate sets of crimes? Consecutively, please, Your Honor, not concurrently.
“Please, Your Honor, my crimes were disorganized. Let me off.”
Probably just one person – all the signatures were identical.
womp womp, motherfucker.
"Talk to the hand…"
