It's likely both Manafort and Trump will fall on their swords for their family at some point. However, to protect the presidency I don't think Trump will ever go to jail. It wouldn't be to protect Trump it would be to protect the office of president in a non-violent way ongoing.
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Trump aide’s 'very favorable' plea deal ramps up pressure on Manafort, experts say
Trump aide’s 'very favorable' plea deal ramps up pressure on Manafort, experts say
AP | Reuters, FILE
Coming upHow ex-Trump aide's guilty plea may affect Russia probe
A former Trump aide’s plea deal on Friday appears to dangle the
possibility that he will get probation – no jail time – after
cooperating with the special counsel’s Russia investigation.
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Buried in the plea agreement with Richard Gates, who was an aide to President Donald Trump’s
election campaign, is a reference by prosecutors to a special provision
in sentencing guidelines that offers a great reward for those willing
to help them.
“A defendant who has provided substantial assistance in the
investigation or prosecution of another person who has committed an
offense may be sentenced to a term of supervised release that is less
than any minimum required by statute or the guidelines,” the statute
says.
The plea agreement goes further, saying that if Gates fully cooperates,
he will “then be free to argue for any sentence below the advisory
sentencing guideline range.” And prosecutors added in the deal that they
“may not oppose defendant’s application” if his help proves valuable.
Joshua Roberts/Reuters, FILE
Veteran white-collar criminal defense lawyer Robert Bennett
told ABC News that the deal looks to him like a “very favorable”
outcome for the 45-year-old Gates, who pleaded guilty Friday to federal
conspiracy and false statements charges.
“He’s a young man," Bennett said. "He has a family. There is a big
difference between a couple years in jail and 10 or 15 or 20. And there
is the possibility that the government, if he is fully cooperative,
could come in and go along with a probation.”
However, although the deal looks on its face to be largely positive for Gates, one source familiar with the case urged caution.
“While I agree the possibility of probation is very good, there are a number of red flags here,” the source told ABC News.
Cooperation, according to the source, is going to be very difficult for
Gates. “They’ve already shown him he has no margin for error,” the
source said. “The government holds all the cards, and the other problem
will be if [the government] thinks he has more to give than he does.”
If Gates is found to be uncooperative, the government could snap back
charges, and Gates - as part of the plea agreement — will have no
opportunity to appeal.
Before making the deal with Gates, special counsel Robert Mueller’s team likely heard a great deal about what the defendant could offer, said Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
“If he has reached a cooperation agreement, they should know absolutely everything,” Bharara told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" Sunday. “You don’t sign on the line that is dotted, as they say, unless you know everything.”
Bennett said the real loser in the arrangement is Gates’s longtime colleague and former co-defendant, Paul Manafort.
“He’s in a very difficult position,” Bennett said.
Shawn Thew/EPA via Shutterstock
Manafort and Gates were initially indicted in October on alleged money
laundering, failing to properly register as foreign agents, and lying to
federal officials about lobbying and other activities that took place
before and are unrelated to Trump's presidential campaign.
Both men pleaded not guilty at the time and were out on bail under home
confinement. Last week, prosecutors added a fresh round of charges that
included conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder
money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal and false statements.
The plea agreement with Gates on Friday appears to put even more
pressure on Manafort, who served as Trump’s campaign chairman during the
summer stretch in 2016 leading into the Republican National Convention.
Manafort continues to maintain his innocence. But the new filings in the
Gates case suggest prosecutors have placed the lion’s share of blame
for the criminal conduct on Manafort. Repeatedly, the document refers to
conduct by Gates coming “at Manafort’s instruction,” and describes him
as “helping Manafort” transfer his funds in order to evade U.S. taxes.
“Gates, with Manafort’s knowledge and agreement, repeatedly misled
Manafort’s accountants,” the court filing says at one point. At another,
it says that “Gates, acting at Manafort’s instructions, did not report
the accounts’ existence to Manafort’s tax accountants.”
ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams said on "This Week" that Manafort may
himself be just a step on the special counsel's path to other targets.
Charles Dharapak/AP, FILE
“I think for the government to want to make a deal with Gates, there has
to be something more here,” Abrams said. “You have to view all of these
as building blocks … all of these plea deals as building blocks. The
reason the government is making these deals. The reason they are
eliminating an enormous amount of counts against these various people is
because they believe they have something to offer them. Something
beyond what we already know.”
The first step that the special counsel’s office indicated it would take
to reward Gates for his cooperation is dismissal of a hefty indictment
filed in Virginia last week against him, court records show. The charges
could be dismissed as early as Monday.
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