Special Counsel Robert Muller’s Office calls, the onetime campaign chairman for President Trump, Paul Manafort, crimes, “longstanding and bold,” court documents show.
The much anticipated filing due before midnight Friday, was filed under seal, with the redacted filing, that contains heavily redacted pages, exhibits, and contains over 800 pages, being released to the public on Saturday.
In the new redacted filing, that is only twenty-five pages long, the Government explains that, “the practice the Special Counsel’s Office has followed, the government does not take a position with respect to a particular sentence to be imposed,” but “Instead, the government sets forth its assessment of the nature of the offenses and offender and the applicable advisory sentencing guidelines and sentencing factors.”
The Government writes in their filing that Manafort has, “committed an array of felonies for over a decade, up through the fall of 2018,” they added, “His criminal actions were bold, some of which were committed while under a spotlight due to his work as the campaign chairman and, later, while he was on bail from this Court.”
Prosecutors note that even after he pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the Government, “as this court found,” he “lied,” to the FBI and the grand jury.
They continue stating that Manafort’s “deceit, which is a fundamental component of the crimes of conviction and relevant conduct, extended to tax preparers, bookkeepers, banks, the Treasury Department, the Department of Justice National Security Division, the FBI, the Special Counsel’s Office, the grand jury, his own legal counsel, Members of Congress, and members of the executive branch of the United States government.”
The Government does note that Manafort could, “upon release from jail,” present “a grave risk of recidivism.”
CNN notes that Manafort is only being sentenced in D.C. Court for two crimes, which will come after his sentence is handed down in a Virginia Court, where the Government told the judge, “he should face up to 25 years in prison.”
CNN goes on to explain based on his two crimes in D.C., the sentence is capped at 10 years.
Manafort’s defense team is expected to file their own sentencing memo on the 25th of February.
For What It’s Worth: While those of us who waited up for this highly anticipated document might be disappointed that it contained no bombshell new information, it does give great detail into Manafort’s crimes.
