Octopus Overlords

Paul Manafort is being held in solitary confinement in a Virginia jail while he awaits trial, according to a document his lawyer filed Thursday.

Manafort's lawyer Kevin Downing said Manafort is being held for 23 hours a day because "the facility cannot otherwise guarantee his safety" and complained he cannot adequately prepare for his upcoming trial, which is slated for July 25.

Assistant special counsel Scott Meisler hit back with a reply also filed Thursday. In it, Meisler wrote the appeal notion should be denied, as Manafort's actions were "committed through covert corrupt persuasion" and that the terms of his sentence "are common to defendants incarcerated pending trial."

The filing also said Manafort has not taken any action to improve his confinement conditions.

Daveman wrote: ↑Fri Jul 06, 2018 11:53 am That tweet has supposedly been confirmed, he was at the Russian meeting but left early and was back in DC.

Hate that this might be used as an example of "fake news".

GreenGoo wrote: ↑Fri Jul 06, 2018 4:26 pm for anyone who still cares about that sort of thing.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Mon Jul 09, 2018 1:25 am Long article on what we know about the Trump-Russia connection, and how bad the truth might be.

Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Jul 09, 2018 2:09 am

El Guapo wrote: ↑Mon Jul 09, 2018 1:25 am Long article on what we know about the Trump-Russia connection, and how bad the truth might be.

That's chilling. All I can say is that, if it's true, I hope Mueller's methodically documenting every bit of it.

Unagi wrote: ↑Mon Jul 09, 2018 7:05 am How is being ‘manipulated like a puppet’ not the very same thing as ‘controlled by someone’?

tgb wrote: ↑Mon Jul 09, 2018 7:13 am A must read:
My greatest fear at this point is that Mueller and/or Rosenstein has an "accident".

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Fri Jul 06, 2018 3:47 pm Business Insider

Paul Manafort is being held in solitary confinement in a Virginia jail while he awaits trial, according to a document his lawyer filed Thursday.

Manafort's lawyer Kevin Downing said Manafort is being held for 23 hours a day because "the facility cannot otherwise guarantee his safety" and complained he cannot adequately prepare for his upcoming trial, which is slated for July 25.

Assistant special counsel Scott Meisler hit back with a reply also filed Thursday. In it, Meisler wrote the appeal notion should be denied, as Manafort's actions were "committed through covert corrupt persuasion" and that the terms of his sentence "are common to defendants incarcerated pending trial."

The filing also said Manafort has not taken any action to improve his confinement conditions.

A federal judge in Alexandria has ordered Paul Manafort to be moved to the city jail, although Manafort has asked to stay in a Northern Neck facility where prosecutors say he is receiving special treatment.

Judge T.S. Ellis wrote in a filing published Wednesday that Manafort’s “access to counsel and his ability to prepare for trial trumps his personal comfort.”

Manafort, the former Trump campaign manager, had asked for his July 25 federal trial in Alexandria on bank and tax fraud charges to be delayed in large part because it was difficult to prepare while incarcerated 100 miles away. But on Tuesday, Manafort resisted being moved to Alexandria, arguing that while the city jail would be more convenient, he did not want to adjust to new circumstances so close to trial.

“It is surprising and confusing when counsel identifies a problem and then opposes the most logical solution to that problem,” Ellis wrote. “The dissonance between defendant’s motion to continue and motion opposing transfer to the Alexandria Detention Center cannot easily be explained or resolved.”

Prosecutors said in a court filing Wednesday that Manafort has told people he is being treated like a “VIP” in the Northern Neck jail, where he has his own phone and computer, writes emails and does not have to wear a uniform.
...
In a recent phone call they say he explained in vague terms why he wanted to go to trial first in D.C. federal court, where he faces related charges in a trial set for September.

“Think about how it’ll play elsewhere,” Manafort said, according to the court filing. “There is a strategy to it, even in failure, but there’s a hope in it.”

In recent phone calls, they say Manafort also has said he has “all my files like I would at home,” has “gone through all the discovery now,” and is being treated like a “VIP.”

Manafort speaks to his attorneys every day and often multiple times a day, they said. While the calls are limited to 15 minutes in length, there is no limit on how many calls he can make.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:19 pm
WaPo

A federal judge in Alexandria has ordered Paul Manafort to be moved to the city jail, although Manafort has asked to stay in a Northern Neck facility where prosecutors say he is receiving special treatment.

Judge T.S. Ellis wrote in a filing published Wednesday that Manafort’s “access to counsel and his ability to prepare for trial trumps his personal comfort.”

Manafort, the former Trump campaign manager, had asked for his July 25 federal trial in Alexandria on bank and tax fraud charges to be delayed in large part because it was difficult to prepare while incarcerated 100 miles away. But on Tuesday, Manafort resisted being moved to Alexandria, arguing that while the city jail would be more convenient, he did not want to adjust to new circumstances so close to trial.

“It is surprising and confusing when counsel identifies a problem and then opposes the most logical solution to that problem,” Ellis wrote. “The dissonance between defendant’s motion to continue and motion opposing transfer to the Alexandria Detention Center cannot easily be explained or resolved.”

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Thu Jul 12, 2018 12:17 pm Did I just really listen to a committee chair tell an FBI employee that the Supreme Court has indicated he has an obligation as a private citizen to answer the question posed to him in his official duties as an FBI agent? What in the actual fuck is happening in that hearing? Is there some type of strategy where they think they can just force answers to their questions about an ongoing investigation? This is their plan?

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:37 pm Gah, it stopped right when ShittyLatte was about to pop a blood vessel. I wanted to see that! Where’s the rest? Did it result in a British Parliament style brawl?

Rip wrote: ↑Tue Jul 10, 2018 3:24 pm Is it time for leftist McCarthyism already.


Commies becomes racists and homophobes. Seems like desperation is in the wind.

This should be the best midterm election we have seen in a while. If the Republicans maintain control of the Senate I suspect the left will go into full meltdown mode.

I was actually a little disappointed with the pick. I would really like to see a well qualified conservative woman on the court.

Holman wrote: ↑Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:10 pm It's looking like they've made the same mistake they made with Hillary Clinton: putting the testimony on live TV so that everyone can see how ridiculously baseless their "investigation" is.

Holman wrote: ↑Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:20 pm Still, making it visible is very different from closed hearings where the GOP committee leaders can selectively release whatever they think looks most Deep State.

Strzok's monologue shown above is going to be the defining clip. In closed hearings, we would never have seen it at all.

Grifman wrote: ↑Fri Jul 13, 2018 1:16 am The Republican assertion that Strok's "bias" taints the investigation and renders him incapable of disregarding personal bias is self refuting. Is Strok's bias disqualifies him, then their pro-Trump bias disqualifies them from investigating him and render an impartial judgement. I wish someone had brought this up at the hearing today.

Furthermore, criminal investigators investigate people all of the time for which they have personal bias. I doubt that the FBI likes organized crime bosses, or the local police like a lot of the multiple convicted offenders they pick up oftentimes. But we generally don't accuse them of bias in those investigations. because we believe they are professionals and try go where the evidence takes them.

The hearings were a joke and a circus.

Zarathud wrote: ↑Fri Jul 13, 2018 2:05 am That's what annoys me the most about the Republican Party. The bullshit is transparently stupid.

But it's all intended to be filtered through the FOX/InfoWars propaganda machine.

Paingod wrote: ↑Fri Jul 13, 2018 7:55 am

Zarathud wrote: ↑Fri Jul 13, 2018 2:05 am That's what annoys me the most about the Republican Party. The bullshit is transparently stupid.

But it's all intended to be filtered through the FOX/InfoWars propaganda machine.

They've discovered just how low the bar is, and how much their base enjoys sensational "Jerry Springer" style TV.