Mueller's Paul Manafort indictments were prosecutorial masterpieces. Trump should be worried.

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

At this stage in the Mueller investigation, it is instructional to compare the Manafort plea and cooperation agreement to the Watergate prosecution, during which I served as an assistant special Watergate prosecutor. Mueller has already accomplished something that was not done in the Watergate investigation: He has flipped two major figures close to the president — Manafort and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. There was no cooperating witness comparable in Watergate who was as close to President Richard Nixon as Flynn and Manafort were to Trump. John Dean had the title of counsel to the president, but he was not one of Nixon’s close insiders.

(snip)

Both indictments were prosecutorial masterpieces. They were built almost entirely on documentary evidence that the defense could not cross-examine like it could live witnesses. The indictments also anticipated every conceivable defense that Manafort’s lawyers might raise at trial. Manafort could not argue he had relied on the advice of counsel or accountants because both indictments charged him with lying to his lawyers and accountants. Shortly after the announcement of the Virginia indictment, Gates agreed to cooperate. In August, a Virginia jury convicted Manafort of 8 of the 18 counts, and the Mueller team moved aggressively ahead to try the second case in DC.

On September 14, 2018, Manafort officially raised the white flag of surrender, pleading guilty and agreeing to cooperate. Remarkably, this happened only one year and four months after Mueller had been appointed — a relatively short time for a complex white collar prosecution. This was an unconditional surrender. Manafort admitted to all of the facts underlying the charges in both the Virginia and District of Columbia indictments, including the charges upon which the Virginia jury could not agree.

(snip)

By requiring Manafort to admit to all of the facts in both cases, the conviction is essentially “pardon proof” in the sense that if Trump ever pardoned Manafort, a state attorney general could take Manafort’s admissions from the plea and his interviews with the prosecutors and use them to indict Manafort on state charges including tax violations and money laundering. In his cooperation agreement Manafort expressly agreed that “any other party” (potentially a state attorney general) can use Manafort’s statement “in any criminal or civil proceeding.”

(snip)

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/mueller-s-paul-manafort-indictments-were-prosecutorial-masterpieces-trump-should-ncna911166

I believe this to be a good read and analysis.

[BeckyDem]

1. The guy seems to be methodical to the max. Solid analysis. +1 Thanks.

[byronius]

2. Great read.

[Jarqui]

3. One juror was unreasonable in Virginia

Mueller had Manafort dead to rights

Some of the work done here will probably be studied for its excellence in law schools for decades to come.

Sometimes, it seems like a 3D legal chess game where they are many moves ahead of their adversary who seems hopelessly outmatched in their 2D thinking and deception.

[olegramps]

4. I bet that they are checking the holdout's banking and spending.

[bigbrother05]

5. Mueller has a half dozen moves on the board before the opening move is played

The other side is so far behind they can only play for a technicality and Mueller doesn't make mistakes.

[Cosmocat]

16. Honestly, jury selection is going to be the key element to any of these prosecutions

Just have to assume anything Mueller prosecutes is going to be buttoned up, but good.

Just have to make sure they don't let any conservative cock roaches on the jury - all it takes is one.

[lagomorph777]

18. One juror was a Trumpie and Mueller bypassed her.

Let that be a lesson to any future activist jurors.

[Mr.Bill]

6. It's any prosecutor's dream when the defendant

is lying to his lawyers, and Trump is doing exactly that.

[watoos]

7. If I remember right,

Manafort even pleaded guilty to the charges the solitary juror held out on. I'm pretty sure that Manafort pleaded guilty to the charges that were hung.

[Uncle Joe]

9. That is correct per the article.

On September 14, 2018, Manafort officially raised the white flag of surrender, pleading guilty and agreeing to cooperate. Remarkably, this happened only one year and four months after Mueller had been appointed — a relatively short time for a complex white collar prosecution. This was an unconditional surrender. Manafort admitted to all of the facts underlying the charges in both the Virginia and District of Columbia indictments, including the charges upon which the Virginia jury could not agree.

[calimary]

17. This is most illuminating, Uncle Joe!

Thanks for posting!

[Uncle Joe]

21. Thank you calimary.

[SWBTATTReg]

8. Mueller and gang again prove their worth to the American concept of justice...glad he's on

our side!

[erronis]

10. Ghouliani and Dump and the repuglicans/russians were trying to rush the investigation

in order to not let all the pieces be thoroughly analyzed and the logical moves be made.

The Special Counsel was not rushed and will not be rushed in the future. He and his team as well as other state/federal groups will very methodically uncover the dirt on these perps.

[forgotmylogin]

20. This is why they're adamant about not letting TRMP talk under oath.

Mueller can drop a ton of bricks on him with no way out and RedDon probably wouldn't be able to comport himself.

[iluvtennis]

11. Thanks. Bookmarked for my lunchtime reading

[Pepsidog]

12. No leaks from Mueller's team should scare the hell out of Trump. The fact that there have been no

substantive leaks from Mueller’s team tells me that all those connected to the investigation from grand juror to copy boy know that this is the most significant investigation of our lifetime. Maybe even the most important investigation in the history of the country and no one dare leak.

[Johnyawl]

13. And it tells us...

...that Mueller picked his team with care.

[FakeNoose]

14. For non-lawyers like myself, and many on DU

... this type of analysis is really helpful.

This gives us the facts behind what's going on in the investigation and court cases.

Thanks for a great post, Uncle Joe!

[Uncle Joe]

15. Thank you FakeNoose

[dlk]

19. This is a Ray of Sunshine in the Trump & Co. Storm

[Judi Lynn]

22. Outstanding article, Uncle Joe. Excellent information. Rec. Thank you. n/t

[Uncle Joe]

23. Thank you Judi Lynn.