Powerful defense closing.
Doubt that it will matter overall, but if this is what the Mueller team brings to a simple tax fraud case....wow.
Link: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/08/15/manafort-attorneys-mueller-team-failed-to-prove-crime-was-committed.html
and maximum 5 year prison time on 2 minor charges. Manaford will have more than 200 prison years. Let's assume Mueller thinks Gates cooperated pretty well. The final conviction is 2.5 years on each charge. That is totally just 5 years in prison. I believe Jury won't let it go. Exactly how serious these crimes are if 300 prison years' offense can be reduced to only 5 years prison offense.
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Millions of dollars in unreported income, utilized sophisticated offshore dummy companies to help mask it. That warrants a prosecution. I've seen tax prosecutions for much less. And, while living in opulence technically is only marginally relevant, it provides terrible optics.
I have a civil case right now where an individual was running a telemarketing scam. He made millions, used a host of dummy companies to launder it, and spent like a drunken sailor. The killer, though, was that, AFTER he got sued by the government, he decided (i) to take his family to the British Open, and (ii) to buy a luxury suite to watch Dallas Cowboys games. That did not provide good optics.
Golfernot's comment is right -- tax cheats don't hang out with solid citizens. They hang out with other tax cheats. And, Gates isn't getting set free -- he's hoping for leniency, but there's nothing guarantied, and if he lied, the government will come down on him hard. Gates made the smart move, because the documentary evidence was overwhelming. Manafort should have tried to cut a similar plea deal (although I don't know if the government was entertaining palatable plea deals).
Take the politics out of it, and you have an arrogant tax cheat who should have been prosecuted. Gates is a rat, and nobody likes rats, but that's the way the criminal justice system works.
Unless the judge is right, and they really are doing it for political reasons. This case would be far easier for those who do this type of caseit all of the time, perhaps even routine.
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Of course, you know that I refer to the govt lawyers who normally prosecute these IRS related cases, but you need any deflection that you can get. Very Lance- like.
They would have done a better job handling this case by far since they do It everyday.
Also, since you have been throwing around morality judgments, you have let your TDS supersede your morals by allowing Gates to have immunity when he not only did everything that Manafort is accused of doing, but he also was skimming off Manafort’s money as well. You really shouldn’t throw stones.
He's guilty, and he pleaded guilty. My guess is that he will get some prison time.
DOJ prosecutes tax crimes usually, not the IRS. Special counsels are so rare, it's not fair to say what they "usually" prosecute.
Again, take the politics out of it: Manafort is a tax cheat, and he got caught, and he got prosecuted. We don't know what kind of deals were offered. I read somewhere that people describe him as an adrenaline junkie -- he may just have refused all deals for the rush. Some clients are like that. But I don't think you can attribute sinister motives to thee government -- they had a case, they had witnesses, they had documentary evidence. Manafort's defense team did what it could with what it had, but in the end I don't think it's going to be enough.
There will be another Manafort trial soon. Let's see if deals are cut for that one.
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That's a recommendation for a lesser sentence, or more likely an agreement not to contest the defendant's request for a lesser sentence. the judge can accept that, or not (ask Jared Vogel, the former Subway pitch-man, about that). But, if he lied while testifying, the government will come down on him.
Again though -- crooks hang out with crooks. It isn't all that big a deal that Gates is a POS. He's a rat, and I agree that nobody likes rats. Doesn't mean that Manafort isn't a tax cheat.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiXvWl9pJjc
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Judge Ellis said that the only reason Mueller's team was after Manafort was to get to Trump. You obviously agree. That being said, then this whole trial is a joke. It certainly isn't about seeking justice, it is political.
Don't believe this case had much to do about Orange. Mueller investigates, finds evidence of crimes by both Gates and Manafort. Gets a plea from one and goes after the other. What exactly did you expect him to do? Ignore the evidence because Little Hands wasn't all over it? How is this political?
So, the point is if it is those documents, not Gates, that prove Manaford guilty, why Mueller team gave Gates a sweet deal? How sweet is it? 300 years prison time of double digit charges was reduced to 2 minor charges with each serving 0 years to maximum 5 years. It's scandalous to manipulate laws this way.
That's the political part, nothing political about the prosecution for financial crimes he is no doubt guilty of.
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....putting the guy in solitary was over the top (I understand the circumstances & don't deny it isn't legal - just excessively heavy handed), as is 315 years in potential jail time.
Further, in your fervor to flip Manafort against Trump, you are willing to let an even greater scumbag (Gates) walk free. If you followed morally correct thinking, you would prosecute Gates rather than give him immunity, and you would give this case to the proper professionals (the IRS) to prosecute the case.
You just want trump, and it is literaly all you care about.