If there is a lesson to be learned, Paul Manafort may be on the cusp of a very difficult learning experience. Special Counsel Robert Mueller seems to have evidence that Mr. Manafort was asking a PR firm to lie for him. That has led to Mueller to ask the Judge to rule that Manafort is in violation of his release agreement and slam him into jail. If Mr. Manafort has done such a thing, that will not bode well for him in the future. It was not a good career move.
As Written and Reported By David Voreacos , Stephanie Baker , and Erik Larson for Bloomberg:
Paul Manafort’s attempts to contact witnesses in his criminal case not only deepens his legal peril, but also sends a chilling message to others under Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s scrutiny.
Already charged with multiple crimes, Manafort attempted early this year to get people at a public relations firm to lie about a lobbying project several years earlier, Mueller’s office said Monday. That, prosecutors said, amounted to attempted witness-tampering by President Donald Trump’s onetime campaign chairman.
Ratcheting up the pressure on Manafort, Mueller’s team is asking a judge to review his house arrest and to consider jailing him as he awaits trial this summer. Manafort, under constant surveillance, used encrypted messaging channels to obscure that he’d organized pro-Ukraine lobbying in the U.S. as well as Europe, prosecutors said. The call records and text messages they presented suggest a corrupt intent, essentially that Manafort was attempting to cover up improper lobbying in the U.S.
“Mueller’s action should send a message loud and clear — as Mueller’s prosecutions of false statements should — that Mueller takes extremely seriously attempts to distort our system of justice and …..
THERE IS WAY MORE HERE KEEP READING:
Mueller Plays Hardball With Manafort, Sending a Message to Others – Bloomberg
Join the conversation!
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.