It Begins...

...and so, as the Drudge Report put it today,

In Alexandria, Virginia today, former Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort is on trial for being a “shrewd liar who orchestrated a global scheme to avoid paying US taxes on millions of dollars.”  By the way, the last I checked, it is not illegal to be wealthy in America and just because someone uses the tax code to their advantage doesn’t make them a criminal either.

But wait, how has Paul Manafort been brought to trial so quickly, in a Federal Court System that operates at the speed of a slow boat to China?  Could it be that it is because Manafort is associated with a President of the United States that the “Deep State” hates and wants to nullify?  That would make this case “politically inspired” and a very slippery slope for all Americans who care about equal protection under the law.  This is beginning to appear as if we are living in some “Banana Republic” State!

I say this because the powers to be (FBI & Justice Department) couldn’t bring themselves to prosecute a Candidate for President of the United States that clearly broke the laws of the land with her home-grown data server and classified information that was hacked by the same people that Mueller is investigating, which has nothing to do with this case against Manafort.  "Oh, what a web we weave when first we decide to deceive."  And, that campaign is responsible for the so-called "dossier" that was fabricated to "pin on Trump" during the election and make him look bad if he was to get elected. We are going to find out that the "dossier" is part of the "insurance policy" that FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Lawyer, turned Strzok's concubine, Lisa Page was discussing when they were planning the FBI's interference of a Presidential Election.  But I digress…

In Today's opening arguments, prosecutors, from special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, are painting a picture of Manafort as a man who has “lived an extravagant lifestyle fueled by secret income” that he made as a lobbyist in Ukraine.  All the time funneling money through the “cash spigot of unreported bank accounts in three foreign countries to create sham loans and collect untaxed income he spent on luxury goods.”  The opening statement indicated that prosecutors plan to put Manafort's wealth on trial as a key element of their case, arguing he funded his lavish spending habits by breaking the law. 

Manafort faces a maximum sentence of 305 years in prison; if convicted. Manafort denies all charges. "All of these charges boil down to one simple issue”, says Uzo Asonye, the prosecutor, “that Paul Manafort lied and Manafort placed himself and his money over the law."  These prosecutors are not above painting a picture of a lifestyle for Manafort that may appear to many to be extreme, in an effort to win some “points” from a jury of what could be considered as “middle-class Americans.”

Defense attorney Thomas Zehnle is placing the blame on Manafort’s longtime assistant Rick Gates, who pleaded guilty to Federal conspiracy charges and lying earlier this year.  Zehnle says although those charges were dropped after his guilty plea he has changed his story over time, as the government placed legal pressure on him, “saying anything to the government,” according to Zehnle.  Manafort’s “trust in Gales was misplaced,” Zehnle suggests.  “Gates found himself in legal trouble because he embezzled millions of dollars from his longtime employer,” who was Paul Manafort.  "He had his hand in the cookie jar," Zehnle said of Gates.  Today was the first time Manafort's team has revealed its defense strategy in full.  The defense intends to use witnesses, the prosecution plan to call, to substantiate their charge that it was Gates who lied and stole money.

Gates could also be a key witness in other parts of Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.  Emmett Sullivan, the judge, in this case, has strictly instructed no mention of Paul Manafort's role in the Trump campaign, no mention of Trump, Russia or collusion” during court proceedings, according to senior White House aide Kellyanne Conway.  She spoke this morning on Fox News. "This trial obviously centers on matters that have nothing to do with the campaign."

Manafort is in jail and will likely remain there throughout the trail.  A three-member DC Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected his request to overturn a lower court’s decision to send him to jail before the trial, after prosecutors accused him of tampering with witnesses.  That came after Manafort contributing to an op-ed in a foreign newspaper while under a gag order.

What is at stake here is for Americans to have confidence in our government.  Instead of investigating to find a crime, the United States Judicial should be stepping in and rectify the true crime in the 2016 Presidential election.  Someone needs to pay the disciplinary price for their criminal activities otherwise the US Citizens will not be able to trust our government.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been absolutely missing in action on this.  He is either incompetent or ignorant?  He needs to do his job or let the President select someone who will.