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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy Judge T.S. Ellis gave Paul Manafort only 47 months in prison
Paul Manafort's criminal sentence just wasn't about the Russia investigation.
Instead, T.S. Ellis, a veteran judge in the Eastern District of Virginia federal court, spent Manafort's sentencing considering a litany of complicated, sometimes mundane legal and financial questions.
"He is not before the court for any allegation that he or anybody at his direction colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election," Ellis said in court. Manafort was there for tax fraud, hiding foreign bank accounts and bank fraud.
In short, this was a fairly typical financial fraud matter that many perceived as a show trial for the Mueller investigation. Even many of Manafort's admitted crimes, like illegal foreign lobbying and money laundering, weren't part of what Ellis considered on Thursday.
Here are answers to some questions about Ellis' ruling and reasoning:
How did he decide 4 years was a 'just' sentence?
Ellis, with 30 years of experience as a federal judge in a busy criminal court, sends a lot of people to jail.
That doesn't mean they always go to jail for a long time. But it does mean he has enough experience to form his own opinions on whether recommended guidelines are fair.
More at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/09/politics/judge-ts-ellis-paul-manafort-sentence/index.html
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,110 posts)Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!
mitch96
(13,822 posts)Or perks for the family and friends... The old boy network is alive and well...
m
Chin music
(23,002 posts)empedocles
(15,751 posts)would have been investigated a lot less [and gotten away with more like white collar 'cons 'should? Maybe gotten away with all of it].
Therefore . . .
duforsure
(11,882 posts)Like with Acosta, and we'll see if anything gets exposed about Ellis too. Was he threatened by trump, putin , or the russian mob? Was a bribe floated, with a position soon to be in his future, and to send a message to others judging other cases? Was this sentence just another result of judge tampering? Hope its looked into very well to determine that, especially with the money trail. When Dems regain all branches this is surely one issue that needs to be investigated further.
Grasswire2
(13,564 posts)Also a possibility.
shanti
(21,672 posts)what makes anyone believe that Berman-Jackson would not be as well? I guess we'll see this week.
mitch96
(13,822 posts)Full sentence of 10 years served after the 47 months (really only 38 b/c time served)
13 years 9+ months no time off for "good" behavior... done.
Slap on the wrist followed by a smack upside the head...
m