UPDATED: Paul Manafort trial Day 11: Defense rests, Manafort will not take the stand

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Tue Aug 14, 2018, 01:37 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Washington Post

Paul Manafort, President Trump’s onetime campaign chairman, is on trial in federal court in Alexandria on bank and tax fraud charges. Prosecutors allege he failed to pay taxes on millions he made from his work for a Russia-friendly Ukrainian political party, then lied to get loans when the cash stopped coming in.

The prosecution rested on Monday, and today the defense rested, and Manafort will not take the stand. The courtroom was sealed for nearly two hours this morning, then reopened at about 11:30 a.m. with Manafort coming in 10 minutes later. The reason for the sealed court was not disclosed. The case is being prosecuted by the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

12:24 p.m.: Jury to be sent home, closing arguments set for Wednesday morning

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III said that closing arguments in the case will begin at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, and jurors will be given instructions in the case after that. The jurors will be sent home at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, after they see the defense formally rest its case. The lawyers will discuss Tuesday afternoon what instructions jurors will receive. Those are wonky, but important, as they will shape how jurors debate the charges of which Manafort is accused.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2018/08/14/paul-manafort-trial-day-11-live-coverage/?utm_term=.9f939219ff4a

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Full title and original article -

Lawyers for Paul Manafort say they’ll rest their case without calling any witnesses in the former Trump campaign chairman’s trial

by Washington Post Staff August 14 at 11:59 AM

The decision in the bank- and tax-fraud case comes after Judge T.S. Ellis III denied a defense motion to acquit Manafort as his lawyers argued the special counsel had failed to prove its case at the federal trial in Virginia. Such motions are routinely filed and almost never granted.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/08/14/lawyers-for-paul-manafort-say-theyll-rest-their-case-without-calling-any-witnesses-in-the-former-trump-campaign-chairmans-trial/?utm_term=.5b0145f72f1c

[Kali]

1. PPPPpppardon me?

[yallerdawg]

5. Exactly.

You know the RWNJ media will be pushing the "injustice" of all this and stroking the Dotard to issue pardon.

Which will send a message to all subsequent targets of prosecutions.

[rogue emissary]

2. Damn, when you know you're beat and decide not to even take the field.

[mobeau69]

3. They'd be like "What can I say?"

[RockRaven]

4. I can't figure who they'd call anyway -- anyone relevant has already testified/been cross-examined

And you sure as heck can't put Manafort up there.

Hopefully they'll roll through closing arguments quickly and get to jury deliberation ASAP.

[Leghorn21]

6. And just now:

Manafort spoke in court:

Judge asked if he discussed testifying with his lawyer

"I have, your honor.”
Judge then asked if he made a decision about testifying

"I have decided," Manafort said.

Judge asked if Manafort would testify.

"No sir," Manafort replied, and took a seat
11:09 AM - Aug 14, 201

Link to tweet

[edhopper]

7. The only witness they have

is Manafort himself, and they know that would be fatal.

[forgotmylogin]

19. The only thing he could do is go on the stand and say "Nuh-uh!" (n/t)

[Leghorn21]

8. And now:

Closing arguments are set to begin at 930am Wednesday.
Judge encouraged each side to keep them under 2 hours.
11:17 AM - Aug 14, 2018

Link to tweet

[edbermac]

9. No surprise.

Obviously rolling the dice that the prosecution hasn’t proved their case.

[SylviaD]

10. He should not be allowed to avoid the stand!! Make him TESTIFY nt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

15. As a local boy wrote:

Fifth Amendment

Fifth Amendment: An Overview

The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides, "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

[eggplant]

17. Seriously?

We are supposed to be a nation of laws. And this particular one is pretty old.

[woundedkarma]

11. A guest on maddow's show

I remember him saying this is air tight. They only had to prove x y and z to get him on 10 counts and all they had to do was show his tax returns to prove that.

Manafort is going to be found guilty.

It's only a question of what happens after that.

I still can't wait to hear the verdict.

[George II]

12. Whether he's pardoned or not, he'll still be GUILTY. A felon. That carries a lot of baggage...

...I wonder if the Federal Government can seize his assets? I wonder if the process will include assessing back taxes, late fees and penalties?

[KPN]

14. Too bad prosecution can't call on defendents as a witness. I'd love to hear the

sound of Manafort squirming and squealing on the witness stand. Ah well ...

[mahatmakanejeeves]

16. Try this:

Hat tip, Betty Bowers, for the link.

If you are puzzled by Manafort's lawyers not even bothering with a defense, here is a great thread that explains why that decision may have been made, irrespective of any expectation of pardon:

Link to tweet

Ok. So. Why would the Manafort defense team not put on a defense, and how unusual is it?

It's not unusual at all. It's common. Here are some possible reasons why. /1

Link to tweet

[BumRushDaShow]

21. That twitter thread is a good summary primer/summary!

Found that thread unrolled here - https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1029399456490315780.html

[mahatmakanejeeves]

22. On good days, I link to Popehat's tweets a good half-dozen times. NT

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

18. Why make the effort? Manafort knows if he remains loyal, Trump will pardon him.

Donnie Two Scoops is already saying Manafort is being "treated unfairly," which is the exact same reason he used for each of he pardons he's given before.

Roger Stone is my biggest concern. By refusing the grand jury subpoena and filing an appeal which will most likely end up in the Supreme Court, he's setting it up where Kavanaugh -- who has stated presidents shouldn't be investigated while in office -- and the other conservative justices can establish the legal precedent that the president is too important to be busied with nicities such as the rule of law. His appeal, if granted, would invalidate the Mueller investigation -- and any other future attempts to hold a president liable for his criminal acts.

In other words, Trump could literally stand in Fifth Avenue and shoot someone and there wouldn't be a damned thing the DOJ could do about it.

It's a king's dream.

[summer_in_TX]

26. No, Trump apparently can't pardon his way out

of legal jeopardy and impeachment (thank the Lord!)

Came across this article from CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) today.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

WHY PRESIDENT TRUMP CAN’T PARDON HIS WAY OUT OF THE SPECIAL COUNSEL AND COHEN INVESTIGATIONS

Media commentators, scholars, and even the president’s allies have speculated that President Trump might “pardon his way out” of the Department of Justice investigations of potential cooperation between Russia and the Trump campaign and obstruction of justice and of President Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen. This strategy would entail issuing presidential pardons to targets of these investigations in the hope that eliminating their exposure to federal charges will prevent them from cooperating with investigators.

Considering the possibility of a pardon strategy is no mere academic exercise. There are many indications that President Trump has contemplated employing it. Last fall, the president’s attorneys reportedly broached pardons with attorneys for former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. This March, immediately following FBI raids to gather evidence from the President’s Trump Organization associate and former lawyer, Michael Cohen, the president issued a pardon to former Vice President Cheney aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury charges stemming from an earlier investigation. Many interpreted that pardon as a signal that President Trump is open to clemency for individuals convicted for lying under oath.

Such a pardon strategy, however tempting it might appear to the president, is fatally flawed. There are two simple reasons for that. First, receiving a federal pardon will not protect key defendants from exposure to state criminal prosecution (as well as state and federal civil liability). In addition, granting a pardon with corrupt intent or for the purpose of interfering or preventing witness testimony could well expose President Trump to impeachment and personal criminal liability for obstruction of justice or bribery. In other words, pardoning key defendants will only complicate, not resolve, President Trump’s legal predicaments.

[snip]

More at the link.

www.citizensforethics.org/pardonpower/

[meadowlander]

20. If the defense wasn't going to call any witnesses, why didn't he just plead guilty?

[BumRushDaShow]

23. See this interesting twitter thread explaining why

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1029399456490315780.html

(tweet originally post in post #16)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

24. Why should he? NT

[meadowlander]

27. Sentence reduction for not wasting the court's time?

At least in New Zealand, you can get a very substantial amount of time taken off your sentence if you are obviously guilty and save the state the expense of mounting a case against you. In some case, where you are super obviously guilty and still wasting everyone's time pleading not guilty the state can even sue you to recoup its expenses.

Not sure how it works in the US though but I would be surprised if there wasn't an equivalent process of sentence reduction for an early guilty plea. It sounds like the government has him dead to rights on the papers alone on dozens of counts so the only reason to drag the whole mess into a trial would be (as explained subsequently on MSNBC) he's sure he can get a pardon.

[marble falls]

25. This was a slam dunk. The jury will be back by Friday afternoon ...

What would his testimony be anyways, "I'm not a crook!"?