Mueller's Sentencing Memo on Manafort Is Harsh

He 'repeatedly and brazenly' broke laws, says special prosecutor's team
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 24, 2019 6:16 AM CST
Mueller's Sentencing Memo on Manafort Is Harsh
In this Oct. 30, 2017, file photo Paul Manafort leaves Federal District Court in Washington.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

If Robert Mueller has his way, Paul Manafort will likely spend most, if not all, of his remaining days in prison. The special prosecutor released part of a sentencing memo Saturday that was unsparing in its judgment of the 69-year-old. Federal prosecutors say Manafort "repeatedly and brazenly" broke laws over the years, on everything from “garden-variety crimes such as tax fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and bank fraud” to “more esoteric laws” on foreign lobbying, reports the Washington Post. He also lied to everyone in his path, including to investigators after his guilty plea, showing a "hardened adherence to committing crimes and lack of remorse," says Mueller's team in the memo to Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the US District Court in DC. In other words: Mueller thinks he deserves no mercy at sentencing.

Mueller's team did not make a specific sentencing recommendation, though the most Manafort can get in this case is 10 years because of his guilty plea. However, the court submission suggests that Jackson make her sentence run consecutively with an upcoming sentence in a separate federal case out of Virginia, reports Politico. The news outlet adds it all up and sees Manafort looking at a total sentence in the 17- to 22-year range. Another memorable shot against President Trump's former campaign chair in the sentencing memo: “Given the breadth of Manafort's criminal activity, the government has not located a comparable case with the unique array of crimes and aggravating factor.” (President Trump has not ruled out pardoning Manafort for the federal crimes, though Manafort could then run into trouble in New York state.)

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