Mueller Triple Whammy Involves 2 Old Names, Plus a New One

News from special counsel's probe on Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, and now Sarah Sanders
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 16, 2019 9:00 AM CST
Mueller Triple Whammy Involves 2 Old Names, Plus a New One
In this June 21, 2017, file photo, special counsel Robert Mueller departs after a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

How long will Paul Manafort go to prison for? If Robert Mueller has his way, a "long, long time," Vox notes, per a "harsh" sentencing memo filed by the special counsel's office Friday. In the memo, Mueller agreed with a probation department's recommendation that the ex-Trump campaign manager, 69, serve between 19.5 and 24 years, meaning he would likely spend the rest of his life in prison. "Manafort acted for more than a decade as if he were above the law, and deprived the federal government and various financial institutions of millions of dollars," Mueller noted in the filing. "The sentence here should reflect the seriousness of these crimes, and serve to both deter Manafort and others from engaging in such conduct." Meanwhile, another court filing Friday from Mueller's office contains news on Roger Stone, with prosecutors for the first time saying they have evidence that the Trump ally was in touch with WikiLeaks.

During their probe into Russia's hack of the Democratic Party, the prosecutors say they came across "communications" between Stone and "Organization 1," which is WikiLeaks, as well as between Stone and Guccifer 2.0, the Russian intelligence-created online persona behind the hack. Prosecutors didn't elaborate on what was in the Stone communications. Finally, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders revealed her own Mueller-related news to CNN: She said Friday she's had her own sit-down with the special counsel. "The president urged me, like he has everyone in the administration, to fully cooperate with the special counsel. I was happy to voluntarily sit down with them," she said of her interview with the Mueller team. CNN notes the subject of her chat with the special counsel's office, which it says took place late last year, is unclear. (A judge has told Stone to keep his mouth shut when around a certain courthouse.)

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