"It was all Rick Gate's fault! He made these investments for me! I just signed the papers! He made me do it!"
Poor Paulie Walnuts, doesn't look like he'll be returning to his palatial estate any time soon.
It's almost like he's decided to shape his entire defense strategy around his vengeance at Gates for betraying him. It's just stupid if that's what he's doing since it's so likely to fail. The gov has 40 some odd witnesses they can call to testify and a mountain of paper he's touched or signed to tie him to the tax fraud.
His only real shot is if by dumb luck he gets a trumptard on his jury that holds out. But you'd think he'd have a defensive strategy aimed at trying to create sympathy for him being persecuted by the government if that's what he's going for. Instead he's painting himself as the victim of an evil Rick Gates.
This will be interesting.
From what I heard about the preliminaries, there were special instructions given to both teams that this trial was NOT to bring up anything to do with Trump directly if possible and focus strictly on the financial charges. That should go a long way to preventing a jurist from trying to hijack it by claiming political bias. The DC trial might be a different matter in that regard, though.
Another thing that the legal eagles said about these kinds of trials is that they are pretty easy to get a conviction as long as the prosecution has enough evidence (paper, or e-paper trails) to back up the charges. And they have a shitload of documentation to use against Paulie.
Yeah I just saw this morning the judge doesn't want prosecutors using the word 'oligarch' because he considers the word a pejorative and doesn't want the trial to be associated with 'despicable people' because it's "not the American way".
He ordered the attorneys to file briefs to defend the use of the term. Prosecutors are arguing that Manafort's own associates use the term to describe the moguls financing their consulting work in Ukraine.
I'm not sure if this is some personal bias of the judge or he's trying to ensure a clean trial immune from appeal.
Yesterday when prosecutors brought up Manafort's ostentatious 15k ostrich fur jacket in describing his lavish spending the judge interjected that "being wealthy is not a crime".
This judge is a Reagan appointee. Is this unsurprising?
I wonder if Gates bought him the $15,000 ostrich jacket?
shareNow Trump is ordering Sessions to shut down the probe. On the day of the Manafort trial (or is this day 2?)
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT... Circle the wagons.... Trump is officially desperate and worried.
The walls are closing in.
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Maybe they will use the Chewbacca Defense.
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