Department of Fixers!
DOJ officials expressed bewilderment that a top DOJ official would get involved in a specific inmateâs incarceration, saying it suggested that â at a minimum â Manafort is receiving special treatment
I nominate this for understatement of the year (so far).
âIt gives the appearance of a special favor,â she said.
You can drop the âappearance ofâ qualifier and just say it straight: itâs a special favor.
If he stays in federal prison, the Trump regime can closely monitor New York State officials trying to get Manafort to flip for leniency. In addition, if they want to pardon him, the Trump regime understands its easier to get Manafort out of a federal prison than Rikers.
Opening act in the pardon drama. And why not? There are no consequences for Trump or his minions.
Truer words never spoken
At least theyâve finally dropped the pretense of being independent arbiters of Justice.
So thereâs that.
Health concerns, eh? These health concerns might worsen, so much so that he is unable to stand trial. Canât have him held in a state prison where state prison doctors might be evaluating his condition, only federal prison doctors can do that.
Yes, this is full speculation, but I can see them wanting to delay the state trial, and making Manafort unavailable is a mechanism for that. Unavailable because the âprison bus broke downâ wonât fly, so Iâm going with âhealth reasonsâ.
Yeah please, are we really going to pretend this is a mystery?
And if even, somehow, there is an innocent explanation for this (there isnât), a proper oppositional response would be to put the DOJ on its heels, requiring them to prove that itâs innocent. Not chin-stroking and considering a possible request for documents or some such nonsense.
(this isnât directed at TPM or the press in general, to be clear)
Of course the GOP wants to protect Manafort
Why Did A Top DOJ Official Mysteriously Intervene In Manafortâs Case?
No mystery, Manafort just told them: if I get shafted at Rykers Island, I am going to spill my guts.
Letâs have an Impeachment Inquiry for Barr.
And Trump too.
Trump: âJeffrey, why donât you give the Manhattan DA a call and get him to leave my friend Paul where he is. Heâs too good a soldier to me to send to Rikers Island.â
Jeffrey Rosen: âRight away Godfather.â
âVanceâs office agreed with Manafort to hold off on arraigning the 70-year-old GOP operative until he entered federal prison, at which point Manafort agreed to be moved to New York Cityâ
Question here: If Manafort had been arraigned before entering federal custody, would this have made it more difficult for the Justice Department to keep him out of Rikers? And if this is so, was this part of a plan between Manafortâs lawyers and the Justice Department all along?
Just a question, since I do not know. Any knowledgeable person can weigh in?
âIt gives the appearance of a special favor,â she said.
Sometimes there is no other explanation for âthe appearance ofâ.
Manafort did deliver for the Russians. Heâs still an asset to Putin and even though he owes millions to one of the oligarchs he did deliver big time. Got a bad feeling heâs not gonna do much jail time. Of course there are the state charges, so hopefully Iâm wrong.
SS Trump garbage scow continues to ply fetid swamp waters, flanked by scavanger birds expecting tidbits from above deck.
it is almost fun when there is no attempt to hide the corruption
looks like âdeep stateâ to me