Posted on 08/17/2018 12:38:53 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
US president Donald Trump defended Paul Manafort as “a good person” and declined to rule out a pardon as a jury spent Friday deliberating the fate of the former campaign chairman.
“I think the whole Manafort trial is very sad,” Mr Trump told reporters on the South Lawn at the White House, before departing for a fundraiser on Long Island. “I think it’s a very sad day for our country. He happens to be a very good person, and I think it’s very sad what they’ve done to Paul Manafort.”
Mr Manafort faces 18 counts of tax evasion and bank fraud. Asked if he would pardon him, Mr Trump said: “I don’t talk about that now.”
The president also reiterated a line often pushed by his White House: that Mr Manafort only worked for him a short time. In fact the 69-year-old political consultant managed the campaign for nearly five months, a pivotal period in which Mr Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination.
Mr Trump’s comments came as a jury convened for a second day of deliberations in Alexandria, Virginia, following a three-week trial in which federal prosecutors called 27 witnesses to testify against Mr Manafort. The list included Mr Manafort’s deputy on the Trump campaign, Rick Gates, who struck a plea deal and has been co-operating with the special counsel, Robert Mueller.
Although the trial is focused on Mr Manafort’s finances and not Russian interference in the 2016 election, it is the first major test of Mr Mueller’s investigation. Mr Manafort faces up to 305 years in prison....
(Excerpt) Read more at irishtimes.com ...
Based on threats against the judge and intimidation of jurors, this is a mistrial. Any conviction is tainted and Trump should pardon Manafort, who is a political prisoner in any event.
Don’t even respond to questions like this or voluntarily make comments re the same MR President. Don’t give the left any ammo, they’ll just twist your words
The members of the media are like kittens following a laser pointer.
They do not have the ability to focus on more than one thing at a time. The President just keeps moving the red dot and they follow it even if it leads off a cliff.
Exactly.
President Trump knows how to play every last one of the so called “journalists” and “media talking heads.”
Whatever he decides to do about Paul Manafort, the press will be the very last to know. LOL.
YEP!!
Ya just KNOW some asswipe paper will have it in the headlines and some aparatchik will wave it for the jury to see.
Remember the Manson trial?
A message to the jury not to just assume the President would pardon Manafort.
Failing to rule out a pardon is obstruction of justice.
/s
The US Government has this guy in solitary and the 9/11 TERRORISTS running the training camp in NM released on bail by a retarded COMMUNIST Democrat State Judge , dead kids notwithstanding.
LOL
It’s not that I don’t think Manafort could be guilty. He may in fact be guilty. It’s the way Mueller handled his treatment and case.
Solitary Confinement?
Charges that could result in him getting an over 400 year sentence?
Hell, for murder the average stay is something like 7 years in prison.
Tell me this wasn’t about intimidation and taking down Trump.
For that reason, I think Manafort should get off.
There’s reasoned prosecution, and there’s out and out threats and coercion.
I’d love to see Manafort get off, and what gripes me about that is that I am a law and order sort, and if handled properly I think this case may have found him guilty.
I’m not going to be perfectly happy if he gets off either.
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