Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is the latest high-profile inmate to be a beneficiary of the pandemic. Manafort was released from prison today due to the danger of his contracting the virus. He will now be serving his 7.5 year sentence in the considerable luxury of his residence. That is hardly hard time but Manafort, who is 71 with a history of liver and respiratory issues, is clearly a high-risk for a lethal exposure of the coronavirus.
The fact is that Manafort was given a 7.5 year sentence not a death sentence. This is an easy call for prison officials for an elderly nonviolent offender with a host of medical problems including respiratory issues. However, for many, this is a windfall benefit for a man who spent his life flaunting his wealth and special privileges. The idea of serving time in his luxury residence will be hard for many to swallow but it is not clear what the alternative would be.
Manafort will now benefit for any delay in a vaccine. We are not expected to see a widely available vaccine until next year. My guess is that Manafort will have a perfect record of incarceration in his luxury penthouse and will be in no rush to return. Given his history of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, liver problems, heart conditions, and respiratory issues, Manafort is the poster boy for a pandemic release.
As we previously discussed, Michael Cohen is also seeking release to his luxury residence to serve the remainder of his time. Both men, known for their insatiable appetites and luxury consumption, could now serve the remainder of their time like the true one percenters.
What is interesting is that, if Michael Flynn’s case is dismissed and Manafort is out of jail, President Trump may not be inclined to grant any pardons before the election.
The reasoning that CA used to empty prisons and jails, yet again, was that its inmates were not given the death penalty, so how is it fair to house them in a facility with a high risk of contagion?
Meanwhile, there has been a lot of crime here in CA. Democrat politicians also raised the felony theft threshold to $950. Their actions indicate they care more for the criminal than they do the business owner, or the employees who lose their jobs when they go under. People steal with impunity. Cops can’t really do anything. A lot of it doesn’t even get put into the crime statistics. Theft is getting rampant in my rural area, now. People drive off with trailers, tools, slash tires. There’s homeless camping in the dry brush and dumping refuse and feces in ephemeral streams.
I’m sure Manfort, and everyone else released, are happy with the early release. Is this justice, and is it fair for the community?
Prisons are infamous for spreading disease. There have been outbreaks of MRSA, scabies, flu, and TB. Warehousing people in cities or prisons or rapid transit allows disease to spread.
So, what are we going to do? Descend into anarchy and no longer arrest people? That blog post Turley wrote about the man arrested 3 times in one day is not an isolated case.
And, yes, a 7.5 year sentence for a 71 year old is a death sentence. One would not consider prison to be an ideal place for longevity. It’s a tossup if he would survive long enough to be released. I do not know if he would be eligible for parole, and if so, when.
Watch the socialists change their tune and support on that proposal.
They ket all the bad guys out…and Manafort didn’t belong there anyhow. A rare victory for the good guys.
When Trump gives the word that he and wife are retiring from the White House and moving to Mar A Logo he will begin issuing pardons. But probably after Pence’s victory in the election for President.
Don’t be surprised when Trump gets off the ticket. Like Tom Eagleton’s situation, he will be outted for having received shock treatment in the past for a mental illness. So he knows he’s gotta go.
I am clairvoyant and not some Cointel guy.
Bye bye Miss American Pie.
Squeeky- If they actually follow the law anymore this case would seem to do the trick.
Re below
It looks like it to me. I imagine we will get an article in the next day or so on Sullivan. I think he is trying to force Trump to pardon Flynn, but it isn’t going to work.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Yes, I posted the same thought below; that want Trump to pardon so they can flail him with it until November. I think he will leave them wallowing in the mess they created and make it an issue against their corruption. They look very bad just now; wouldn’t be surprised if the judge retired within a year.
Off topic, but this 2016 case would seem to prevent Judge Sullivan from doing what he is with Flynn:
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DC Circuit Court overrules Judge Leon in Fokker DPA case
Richard L. Cassin
April 6, 2016
4:18 pm
United States Circuit Judge Sri SrinivasanA three-judge federal appeals court said Tuesday the DOJ’s settlement with Fokker Services B.V. for alleged sanctions violations could go ahead after a district court judge rejected the arrangement as “anemic.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC said prosecutors and not judges make decisions to enter into deferred prosecution agreement with corporate defendants.
In February 2015, federal district court judge Richard Leon refused to approve the settlement. He said the proposed $21 million penalty was “grossly disproportionate to the gravity of Fokker Sercvices’ conduct in a post-911 world.”
Holland-based Fokker Services admitted in a 2014 plea deal that it made more than 1,100 illegal shipments of aircraft parts, technology, and services worth $21 million to Iran, Sudan, and Burma.
In the settlement, Fokker agreed to forfeit $10.5 million and pay a civil fine of $10.5 million.
The settlement included an 18-month deferred prosecution agreement. Fokker Services promised to enhance its trade sanctions compliance.
In his February 5, 2015 opinion (pdf), Judge Leon said:
In my judgment, it would undermine the public’s confidence in the administration of justice and promote disrespect for the law for it to see a defendant prosecuted so anemically for engaging in such egregious conduct for such a sustained period of time and for the benefit of one of our country’s worst enemies.
Fokker appealed Judge Leon’s ruling.
Tuesday’s appellate opinion (pdf) written by Circuit Judge Sri Srinivasan said, “The Constitution allocates primacy in criminal charging decisions to the Executive Branch.”
In an FCPA case, Judge Leon in 2012 rejected a proposed $10 million civil settlement between the SEC and IBM. He said IBM should be required to report all accounting violations and not just FCPA anti-bribery problems.
He approved a revised IBM settlement in mid 2013. The new terms included enhanced reporting by IBM to the court about its compliance program and any potential FCPA violations.
In its opinion Tuesday, the appeals court said: “It has long been settled that the Judiciary generally lacks authority to second-guess those Executive determinations, much less to impose its own charging preferences.”
The DOJ uses deferred prosecution agreements to resolve most corporate FCPA cases. DPAs typically run for three years. They usually impose a criminal fine and require enhanced compliance, training, cooperation, reporting, and sometimes appointment of an independent monitor.
https://fcpablog.com/editors/bill-steinman/
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Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter