Today's talker: Paul Manafort's alleged witness tampering doesn't bode well for his case ... or Trump's
The FBI says former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort attempted to tamper with witnesses. Readers and pundits debate.
A team of prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller allege that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and one of his associates “repeatedly” tried to tamper with witnesses.
When will Manafort learn?
After a weekend of reading letters and tweets about self-presidential pardons, I didn’t think anything could shock me. But I was wrong.
Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign manager and defendant accused of illegal foreign lobbying among other charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, allegedly used an intermediary to contact two witnesses in his case. If true, what was he thinking?
According to a June 4 court filing, these inappropriate calls, texts and WhatsApp messages amount to “witness tampering.” Manafort apparently wanted these witnesses to testify that their lobbying campaign focused only on securing stronger relations between Ukraine and Europe, and not with the United States. That may be encouraging perjury or false testimony, one more violation to Manafort’s long and growing list of crimes from bank fraud to money laundering.
Prosecutors are responding to the latest charges by petitioning a federal judge to revoke or revise Manafort’s house arrest, so that he awaits trial in jail. Apart from his legal team, the only people whom Trump’s campaign manager should contact are relatives. When out on bail, judges instruct defendants not to contact witnesses or to communicate through the other side’s attorney.
Last year, he tried to send a message by ghostwriting an opinion piece describing his lobbying activities. Prosecutors also complained.
When will Manafort learn?
Caroline Fredrickson is president of the American Constitution Society and the author ofUnder the Bus: How Working Women Are Being Run Over. Follow her on Twitter: @crfredrickson
More:Talker: Trump's pardons send a clear signal to those who disregard the rules
More:Talker: Bill Clinton hasn't learned anything from the #MeToo movement
What our readers are saying
What a waste of taxpayer money. Going after a campaign staffer that was on the campaign for a short time, on charges unrelated to collusion.
— Tom Ponmalayil
Trump's days as president are numbered. Manafort is now more likely to flip sides. He was Trump's campaign manager during critical periods when it seems that Russian officials were attempting to subvert the U.S. 2016 presidential election. This is big.
— Dave Chandler
When you're going down as hard as Manafort is, what's another felony or two? When you're 69 years old, what's the difference between a 50-year sentence and a 75-year sentence?
— Robert Earle
Mueller seems to be going after everything other than what he was instructed to do. I guess he knows he has nothing on Trump, so he will just go after anything he can.
— Jim Reid
I remember when President Obama went on Twitter tirades, insulted members of Congress, said he could pardon himself, bashed investigations calling them witch hunts, belittled the Department of Justice and the FBI, allegedly had sex with porn stars and had numerous lawyers. Oops, that never happened.
— Terri A. Williams
What others are saying
Franklin Foer, The Atlantic: "If we look back on Robert Mueller’s strategy over the past few months, the special counsel seems to repeatedly signal to Manafort: Look, I know everything; you have no choice but cooperation. It’s a pattern that continues with this filing, the first instance in which Mueller has deployed material supplied by Manafort’s old alter ego, Rick Gates. When Gates agreed to cooperate with Mueller, he handed over a raft of emails. We can see in the exhibits that Mueller attached to this filing that Gates possesses a comprehensive archive of Manafort’s dealings, a blueprint of his operation. There will be no ellipses in the Manafort trial. Gates can fill all the gaps."
To join the conversations about topics on USA TODAY, email letters@usatoday.com, comment on Facebook, or use #tellusatoday on Twitter.