Paul Manafort sentenced to less than four years

Based on sentencing guidelines, Paul Manafort was facing 19 to 24 years in prison today, but District Judge T.S. Ellis gave him just 47 months, plus 3 years of supervised release. From CNN:

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“I’m convinced that’s a just sentence for that conduct,” Ellis said as he delivered the sentence.

Even though Ellis gave Manafort a more lenient sentence than the court’s probation office had recommended, he told Manafort he was disappointed that Manafort did not express remorse.

“I was surprised I did not hear you express regret for engaging in criminal conduct,” Ellis said. “I hope you will reflect on that.”

Before Ellis delivered his sentence, he said, “Life is making choices, Mr. Manafort, and living with the choices you make.”

Manafort won’t even serve 47 months because he gets time served for the 9 months he has already been in jail. So he’s facing just over three years in a case that easily could have been a defacto life sentence (he’s 69 years old). However, Manafort is not out of the woods. Today’s sentencing was for 18 counts in which he pleaded not guilty. Next week he will face sentencing in a separate case in which he pleaded guilty. From Fox News:

After his conviction in Virginia, Manafort pleaded guilty in Washington to foreign lobbying violations and witness tampering as part of a plea deal with prosecutors…

His hopes for a reduced sentence in the Washington case may be in jeopardy after a federal judge recently found that he lied to Mueller’s team in response to some, but not all, of their inquiries. The ruling voids his plea deal and exposes Manafort, at a minimum, to a harsher sentence.

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So maybe the sentencing is going to be a bit harsher in the second case where he faces an additional 10 years (if the sentences are served consecutively).

Some on the left are outraged over the 47-month result. From MSNBC:

ABC:

NBC:

CNN:

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On and on:

After the sentencing, Manafort’s lawyer came out and made a statement about the case having nothing to do with collusion:

Adam Schiff saw that statement was a coded “appeal for a pardon.”

Was it an appeal for a pardon or is Schiff just upset his collusion narrative took a hit? CBS is reporting that an anonymous source claims Manafort is still banking on a pardon:

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As it stands now, Manafort is getting off pretty light so maybe Trump figures there’s no need for a pardon. But again, there’s more sentencing to come. Will Judge Amy Berman Jackson decide to max out Manafort’s second sentence to make up for the light sentence today? Or does she dial it back a bit in hopes of keeping Trump on the sideline? Sentencing in the second case is scheduled for next Wednesday.

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Ed Morrissey 12:40 PM | November 21, 2024
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David Strom 11:20 AM | November 21, 2024
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