Former Trump campaign chair, Paul Manafort, has joined former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen in a second ignoble distinction. Both are now in prison for felonies. As for today, Manafort is also a disbarred lawyer. While Cohen was belatedly disbarred in New York, Manafort was disbarred in Washington, D.C. That certainly does not speak well for the President’s pledge to bring in the very best people. From the outset, both Cohen and Manafort had dreadful reputations in their respective bars. Cohen was known as a legal thug while Manafort was viewed as a sleazy and reckless lawyer.
D.C. Court of Appeals on Thursday disbarred Manafort due to his convictions for obstruction of justice and conspiracy. Manafort had been a member of the bar since 1979.
Manafort worked for some of the most blood-soaked and corrupt figures in Europe, particularly The Ukraine. His excessive lifestyle made him more and more reckless in seeking to maintain the flow of millions of dollars into his account.
He has become so radioactive that not only did the Bar get rid of him but his filmmaker daughter, Jess Bond, dropped the use of Manafort as a last name.
One difference with Cohen is that Manafort could still receive a pardon from Trump who has praised him for his standing firm against Mueller. While Manafort cooperated, Mueller later said that he was not fulfilling his agreement and sought a higher sentence. Like Cohen, however, Manafort was sentenced for criminal acts unrelated to Trump. While Cohen had the campaign finance charge, Manafort was entirely unrelated to either the campaign or the Trumps in his criminal conduct. That could raise questions over the purpose of the pardon when Manafort was punished for crimes preceding his work on the campaign.