Posted on 08/14/2018 9:08:06 AM PDT by Coronal
Attorneys for Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman who is on trial for financial crimes in federal district court Alexandria, Virginia, will not present a defense of their client, ABC News has learned.
Government prosecutors from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office rested their case on Monday, so without a defense, the jury is expected to begin deliberations following closing arguments.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I’ve learned a lot from Judge Judy and Law & Order. I love Perry Mason, but Law & Order goes behind the scenes of wheeling and dealing with the defendants and the judges.
criminal trials are supposed to be unfair. Unfair to the prosecution because they have to remove ALL reasonable doubt.
Mark Levin said that the defense attorneys should bring up how many people got immunity deals or plea deals. He says it’s quite a few. I don’t know if they can do that in closing arguments or not.
He wouldn’t have had to testify anyway.
If you're watching TV shows, how would you know if what you've "learned" has any basis in reality?
It depends. The judge mentioned that the government didn’t go after the company and dropped that case. I don’t know what the paperwork says. Did he pay back the loans? Renting your place to AirBNB hardly seems proof of defrauding a Bank. He had millions stolen from him by Gates, that doesn’t seem like someone who is very sophisticated on money matters. I’ve worked for people who became very rich and successful but didn’t have a clue on financial intricacies
Perhaps, but don’t really see what purpose a false report about them putting up a defense or not would serve.....
That top
I plan on taking the BAR exam soon.
Unless things have changed, you don’t have to have gone to law school to become a lawyer, you just need to pass the State Bar exam. So if you feel up to to it, go for it /s (happy face)
I was making a joke comment after others said that they learned a lot from Perry Mason and My Cousin Vinny. Geesh!
Remember in December when ABC's Brian Ross was suspended for erroneously reporting that Flynn was going to testify that Trump ordered him to contact Russian officials during the campaign, and the stock market dropped 350 points as a result?
Remember in May when NBC rushed the report that federal officials wiretapped phone calls between Trump and lawyer Michael Cohen, and then later had to retract that story?
-PJ
I believe Manafort’s attorneys don’t ant Manafort to be cross examined. The defense is not really that Manafort is innocent, not directly anyway, but that Gates is a scoundrel who can[t be believed. This makes it a trial of Gatesrather than Manafort though Manafort, not Gates, does the time if it gomisfires.
Here is a story this morning from the New York Times: Manafort Lawyers Rest Without Calling Witnesses in Fraud Trial.
Excerpt:
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Lawyers for Paul Manafort rested without calling witnesses on Tuesday in their client’s trial on bank and fraud charges, a stark contrast from the prosecution’s case that included testimony from nearly two dozen people and hundreds of documents entered into evidence.Before they rested, the judge, T.S. Ellis III, denied a motion to acquit Mr. Manafort. Judge Ellis scheduled closing arguments to begin on Wednesday morning.
-PJ
“Nope. For me, six times was the charm.”
Shoe drop anticipated, but which one, dunno. Thanks Coronal.
I mean, if the defense puts on its own case, and they don’t call Manifort as a part of it, then the jury will wonder (in spite of jury instructions to the contrary) why Manifort is not called as a witness? They will wonder “what is Manifort hiding?” Put on a case and call Manifort, and the prosecution will murder him.
Looks more like they are not putting on a defense because they don't have one to put on.
No defense, no witnesses and won't call Manifort himself for obvious reasons.
After being found guilty he tries to convince Trump that he better be pardoned.
Maybe he can get a hung jury if lucky.
I can see it.
1) Manafort’s guys think the judge has made Mulehead’s team look like idiots.
2) They think Mulehead has made Manafort look like a dupe, not a conspirator.
3) Probably any defense witness they put up would negate #2.
Gates was practically a witness for the defense. Why screw things up?
It’s not that common, but not unusual either. I think it’s a bad choice, though. People want to hear a defense, the other side.
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