With the sentence announcement in the second proceedings against Donald trump’s former campaign Manager Paul Manafort, a key process of the Mueller investigation ends – but in the turmoil of the country that changes nothing.
In the first proceedings against Paul Manafort in Virginia Trumps the former campaign Manager for judge T. S. Ellis came to the assessment of many observers, with a sentence of less than four years unscathed. The official national guidelines, however, are not binding, for Manafort a sentence up to 24 years of age.
If, however, judge Amy Berman Jackson hall in Washington, DC announced on Wednesday in a court, for how long Manafort for his actions in the second process against him behind bars, the former Trump Trusted can hope hardly on similar criminal discount.
“Otherwise blameless life”
In contrast to Ellis, the treated Manafort already in the process to be more benevolent and to him in the penalty Annunciation certificated, he had led “a blameless life”, clashed Manafort and judge Jackson in the course of the procedure a number of times already. The duration of the conflict escalated to the extent that Jackson ordered the detention Manaforts, since these have repeatedly disregarded the conditions imposed by the court a miss and tried to influence witnesses.
It went in the first process in Virginia, to large and permanent tax and financial fraud, was Manafort accused in the second procedure in Washington for conspiracy and legal disruption by attempted Witness tampering. In short: in the first process, it went to the big money, in the second high-level politics.
Because in Washington proceedings known to be Manafort, among other things, the illegal Lobbying for Ukrainian politicians are guilty of. And in prison, Manafort finally went also, because he is broken, according to the court of his cooperation agreement with the Mueller-prosecutors, and contacts to Russian nationals had lied.
Paul Manafort with Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka in the election campaign
“Interference in the election”
And thus, says Laurie Levenson, a former assistant U.S. attorney and now a Professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, turned in the second process in Washington is rather the core issue of the Mueller investigation as the first in Virginia: “Here it went to the Russians and the interference in the election.”
In the process, Manafort has brought the Mueller-examination in terms of content, “relatively little progress”, says Jeb Barnes, a political scientist at the University of Southern California Dornsife. This was also due to the fact that the Mueller-the Prosecutor of the debates after the collapse of the agreement negotiated by Manafort for a penalty reduction or waiver of Penalty for him. Because of his Position as trump’s campaign Manager and his Russian contacts, he was, nevertheless, an important piece of the puzzle for the Mueller investigation, emphasize Levenson and Barnes.
“Manafort is the connection”
“I used to hate the word ‘Collusion’ (a term that the Trump in terms of the Mueller procedure and asserts that there is no Collusion, in German collusion. Note. the editors), because it is not a legal term,” said Levenson. “But when you used the word already, then the connection is Manafort. Because he met with the Russians collusion.” Among other things, Manafort internal choice survey to have results with a Russian business partner, shared that according to the FBI’s Connections to the Russian intelligence service.
However, despite the in the view of the observer the larger political Dimension of the process in Washington, is the possible sentence for Manafort under the age of 24, would have been in the process in Virginia. Judge Jackson may not impose ten years, but the actual sentence will probably be significantly lower.
Therefore, the main focus in Virginia is located next to the sentence, mainly on the type of imposition of sentence: this is Because Jackson can decide whether the punishment imposed, begins to run concurrently with the already imposed sentence in Virginia, or whether they must be paid the penalty after the penalty in Virginia. In view of the incidents in the process, many observers assume that Jackson will impose the penalty as port penalty and Manafort, therefore, must two penalties in a row.
The Republicans in Congress continue to adhere to the Trump.
“No turning point in sight”
Normally, the fact that a former campaign Manager of the President-in-office must, among other things, due to the dubious machinations of foreign powers for years behind bars, a Bang that will shake the country and the presidency, to falter would bring would be. But since we are not living in normal times, is not currently expected that the end of the Manafort process, or even the long-awaited Mueller report could be the President really dangerous, says Barnes.
“There was a time when I would have given a different answer. But it’s just that this whole investigation and all related charges have become a political Rorschach Test,” says the political scientist. “If you’re a Republican, then you see a kind of pattern and if you’re a Democrat, then you see a different. It is hard for me to say what could represent a possible turning point in this thing for the American Public.”