Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti unleashed an epic explainer on the recent news that former Donald Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort lied to investigators.
Manafort entered into a plea agreement and committed to cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. According to the recent court filings, Manafort breached that agreement by lying. Mueller said that he is moving forward with sentencing Manafort for the breach.
There was no statement about what Manafort lied about.
Mariotti explained that Manafort could have been promised a pardon in exchange for lying, but “but offering anything of value to someone in exchange for the commission of a federal crime is itself a federal crime.”
Read the rest of his explainer below:
THREAD: What can we make of today's status report filed by Mueller indicating that Manafort lied to the FBI and to Mueller "on a variety of subject matters?"
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
1/ Today Mueller filed a status report indicating that "Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel's Office on a variety of subject matters." https://t.co/lp8UFchVOm
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
2/ The purpose of the status report is to keep the judge in one of Manafort's cases updated on the status of what is happening with Manafort's cooperation, so she can know when to begin to start the process of sentencing him.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
4/ This meant that Manafort couldn't cooperate against some people and not others. He also couldn't hide certain information or lie about certain information while truthfully providing other information. Cooperation with federal prosecutors is an "all or nothing" affair.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
5/ Today's filing indicates that Mueller believes he can prove that Manafort lied on multiple occasions. It's worth noting that we knew of at least one unusual issue with Manafort's cooperation–Trump's lawyers said Manafort's lawyers were updating them on Manafort's actions.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
6/ That is very highly unusual, because typically flippers are completely on the government's team. Today's filing could mean that Manafort was trying to protect Trump, or he could be trying to shield another person or entity, or trying to hide wealth from prosecutors.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
7/ You might be asking yourself–why does it matter so much to prosecutors that a flipper cooperate 100%, on all matters, in a truthful way? As it is, flippers are witnesses that it is hard for juries to trust. For instance, Manafort has already been convicted of fraud.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
8/ The government needs to be assured that what he's telling them now is complete and accurate, and that they can represent to a jury that they could trust what Manafort has to say. Clearly they are not able to do that at this time. So what does this mean for Manafort?
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
9/ Manafort is now in a worse position than if he didn't cooperate in the first place and just pleaded guilty. Mueller can now invalidate the cooperation deal and has indicated in the report that he *has* broken the deal.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
10/ So on top of pleading guilty, Mueller will "file a detailed sentencing submission" that "sets forth the nature of the defendant's crimes and lies, including those after signing the plea agreement." So the judge will learn of Manafort's efforts to deceive Mueller and the FBI.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
11/ When sentencing a defendant, judges have very broad discretion to consider nearly everything. Federal law mandates that judges consider "the history and characteristics of the defendant" and the "nature and circumstances of the offense." Those are very broad factors.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
12/ You can expect the judge, who has already had some harsh word for Manafort when he violated his bond conditions, to take this conduct into account at sentencing. It undercuts Manafort's acceptance of responsibility and demonstrates his lack of respect for the law.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
13/ (As it turns out, promoting "respect for the law" is another sentencing factor the judge must consider under federal law.) So you can expect a very harsh sentence for Manafort. Some of you may wonder–could Manafort now change his mind and reverse course?
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
15/ In addition, Manafort's attorneys were involved in drafting this report and said Manafort "believes" he has provided truthful information. So now let's get to one of the questions may of you are asking (including @marty_lederman): Isn't Manafort expecting a pardon?
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) November 27, 2018
