Paul Manafort is set to be sentenced next Thursday at 3:30pm ET (moved from March 8 to 7), and he is asking the Virginia court to give him considerably less time than the 19 to 24 years recommended by federal guidelines.
The cases the “Special Counsel have brought against Mr. Manafort have devastated him personally, professionally, and financially,” his attorneys wrote in a filing Friday.
CNN:
Manafort's team wrote Friday that amount of time is "clearly disproportionate" to his crimes, which include tax fraud, bank fraud and lying on other federal financial forms.
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"The Special Counsel's attempt to vilify Mr. Manafort as a lifelong and irredeemable felon is beyond the pale and grossly overstates the facts before this Court," Manafort's legal team says. "The Special Counsel's conduct comes as no surprise, and falls within the government's pattern of spreading misinformation about Mr. Manafort to impugn his character in a manner that this country has not experienced in decades."
Manafort clearly does not want to die in prison, according to this memo.
A major argument his team makes for a sentence of less than 25 years is that Manafort isn't likely to commit more crimes after he's released from prison.
He's at "low risk" of being a repeat criminal offender, his legal team wrote, because of the type of tax and white-collar crime he committed, and because he's already almost 70 years old.
However, prosecutors explicitly said just the opposite their sentencing memo.
In sum, upon release from jail, Manafort presents a grave risk of recidivism.
Manafort has previously found a somewhat sympathetic ear in the Virginia case from Judge T.S. Ellis III. His attorneys even quoted Ellis when arguing in Washington that Manafort was singled out by the special counsel so he would help with their probe of Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election and provide details of President Trump’s campaign.
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After losing at trial in Virginia, Manafort did plead guilty to conspiracy in Washington, acknowledging his financial crimes as well as illegal lobbying efforts on Ukraine’s behalf. He agreed to cooperate with the special counsel.
But prosecutors later concluded that Manafort lied repeatedly, including about issues at the heart of their investigation. The D.C. judge, Amy Berman Jackson, agreed, releasing prosecutors from any obligation to recommend a lighter sentence.
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There is no upper limit on Manafort’s Virginia sentence. His sentence in Washington is capped at 10 years but could run consecutive to any prison term in the Virginia case.
Manafort's DC sentencing is set for March 13, and today, Judge Berman Jackson ruled she will not change her finding that Manafort intentionally lied to prosecutors about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik.
CNN:
This comes after special counsel Robert Mueller's office gave Jackson more information following an additional interview that prosecutors did last month with Rick Gates about a Kilimnik and Manafort meeting. Prosecutors said Gates provided some information that helps Manafort.
Judge says she won't change her finding that Manafort intentionally lied (CNN)
Paul Manafort wants sentence ‘significantly below’ guidelines in Virginia (WaPo)
Manafort’s Lawyers, Saying He Learned ‘Harsh Lesson,’ Seek Lenient Sentence (NYT)
Manafort sentencing hearing rescheduled to March 7: court filing (Reuters)