Posted on 08/06/2018 8:57:28 AM PDT by sickoflibs
I think that’s the plan. Cut a deal where Manafort agrees to provide some kind of testimony against Trump or his family to avoid jail time. I consider that kind of prosecutorial behavior as unethical, a form of extortion, but I am in the minority on that. Lots of prosecutors do this.
“The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has subtly provided the legal groundwork for prosecuting people for something like deleting their browser history.”
Hardly. They would have to demonstrate that you were deleting it in order to actually destroy evidence pertinent to some investigation. In both of the examples provided in the article, that is what was actually happening.
Destroying evidence has always been a crime, whether Sarbanes-Oxley explicitly extended that to destroying it by deleting browser history or not. The difference between a regular person deleting their browser history for purposes of improving performance (or even hiding the fact that they visited embarrassing websites from other people) and a criminal deleting their browser history to hide evidence is the same as the difference between a regular person burning some garbage and a murderer burning bloody clothes. The act of burning is not what is illegal, it is the act of destroying evidence that is illegal, regardless of the means.
Mule boi is all hat, no cattle ...
“Hardly. They would have to demonstrate that you were deleting it in order to actually destroy evidence pertinent to some investigation. In both of the examples provided in the article, that is what was actually happening.”
Everyone deletes browsing history all of the time. By your reasoning any normal, routine, and reasonable activity is prosecutable the very moment a prosecutor decides to go after someone. I am certain that you shred your credit card bills and financial statements to keep your house uncluttered and to prevent criminals from stealing your identity/information in the trash and I wonder what your opinion would be if you were prosecuted for some crime and the also charged you with destruction of evidence?
Thanks sickoflibs.
Herr Heinrich Mueller is LOSING!
“By your reasoning any normal, routine, and reasonable activity is prosecutable the very moment a prosecutor decides to go after someone.”
No. It’s only prosecutable if you are clearly doing it to destroy evidence of a crime. Nobody burns bloody clothes they wore during a murder as a “normal, routine, and reasonable” activity. The very act of doing it is not routine, and prompted by a desire to avoid prosecution. Likewise, nobody goes and deletes terrorist videos they downloaded after they find out their buddy committed a terror attack as a “normal, routine, and reasonable” activity either.
That type of activity is not the same as someone who routinely deletes their browser history as a matter of course, or someone who shreds their credit card statements before throwing them in the garbage. It’s not even in the same wheelhouse.
He could be convicted and the judge could give him time served and be done with it.
Won’t matter, political trial.
The whole point of indicting alleged Russian intelligence agents is that they will never have to be tried. All the evidence Mueller collects is now part of an “open case” — and always will be. Mueller will never file a report which would have to admit Trump did nothing wrong. He will simply state that they don’t want to compromise and “open case” by telling us what they have (or really don’t have).
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