Indictment-O-Rama, Act 3: Cohen Up the River

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Absolutely nobody could have predicted this entire chain of ev-


https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/793254986641764356

-ents. Oh.

Man, what kind of inept, incompetent, sorry excuse for a candidate could possibly have lost to Trump in 2016, oh wait...

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1073002825196564480

The words "it is possible that" make this a largely meaningless statement by Davis.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

I was watching the news the other day, and one of the hosts mentioned that if Roger Stone were to be convicted of all counts, the sentencing guideline will be 1 year. That has to be way too low, isn't obstruction and lying to congress very serious offenses in their own right? There is also the other 5 indictments. I was figuring Stone could be looking at a Paul Manafort type sentence if convicted.

Stone would probably be looking at a minimum 3 1/2 - 4 years under the sentencing guidelines, especially in light of the witness tampering charge. 

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuCK_AJgnJc/

Someone wants to get his ass thrown in jail

What was that? It's deleted now.

Picture of the judge calling her out by name with a crosshair next to her

Who posted it? Roger Stone?

Yes.




Keep in mind that Stone is under a gag order restricting him from publicly commenting on his trial.

Notice the crosshair in the background

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Roger Stone needs to die in prison like Manafort probably will.

They may need to, but I highly doubt Trump will let them.  They are both betting on a presidential pardon, which explains their risky antics. 

You don't think Trump is going to pardon Paul Manafort?   

Nope

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Looks like we’re hurtling towards an ending that may play out in an interesting fashion.

Mueller isn’t even close to the end of the investigations into Trump nor is this the most dangerous, legally speaking.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Seven years for Manafort. Buh buh but Rick Wilson told me he’d die in prison.

He may well do so, the man turns 70 in less than a month and is allegedly not in the best of health.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Seven years for Manafort. Buh buh but Rick Wilson told me he’d die in prison.

He may well do so, the man turns 70 in less than a month and is allegedly not in the best of health.

He has gout.

Yeah, but old age can lead to a death by thousand cuts type thing faster than one might think.  In any case, he's also facing sixteen additional state charges.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

SDNY would be the logical conclusion.

Highly unlikely given that neither would be in a position to know anything about what SDNY is investigating (the Stormy Daniels hush money payments and the ensuing cover-up).  Flynn's cooperation is already over and his sentencing was delayed at the request of Flynn's attorney rather than the U.S. government.  Gates is likely still cooperating with the probe into the Trump inauguration money and other probes that are not known to the public at this time.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Isn't SDNY also covering the inauguration?

I don’t think so, although I could be misremembering

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

It might be a different investigation under their purview.

I don't think it is; if memory serves, it's being handled by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

You know when you get too excited for something, like Christmas or a birthday, and then when it's over you are sad?

That's liberals today.

Yeah, but they’ll settle down in a few days whereas you’ll still be an anti-Semitic racist.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Good

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1164714935944974336?s=20

Fake news absent confirmation from a credible source

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Holder cautions against potentially prosecuting Trump post presidency

I am shocked, shocked, that a man who accepted a cushy sinecure after refusing to prosecute torture, domestic spying, and the largest financial frauds in our nation's history doesn't want to prosecute Don the Con either.

Anyone defending Trump using some "good of the nation" nonsense or anything similar is no better than the Republicans crooks and traitors they want to help.

That’s not what he said...

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Holder cautions against potentially prosecuting Trump post presidency

I am shocked, shocked, that a man who accepted a cushy sinecure after refusing to prosecute torture, domestic spying, and the largest financial frauds in our nation's history doesn't want to prosecute Don the Con either.

Anyone defending Trump using some "good of the nation" nonsense or anything similar is no better than the Republicans crooks and traitors they want to help.

That’s not what he said...

He said that in the absence of impeachment, Trump should not be prosecuted after leaving office, given that it would 'pose risks to the nation'.  To which I answer, isn't there a greater risk if we leave the public with the impression that if you are rich and famous enough, that you can never be held accountable for your actions (in this life)?  That Trump is therefore above the law?  Is that really what Holder wants for this country -one set of rules for the ordinary Joe and Jane, and then another for the elite?  

Screw him.  

I may have missed that part, but I didn't see where he said Trump shouldn't be prosecuted.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Email Leak Exposes Trump Tower Russian’s Dirty Lobbying Operations

The Russian lawyer who took part in the infamous Trump Tower meeting with senior Trump campaign officials was part of a secretive campaign on American soil that—according to the emails—may also have involved contempt of court and the violation of lobbying laws. She already has been indicted by the Southern District of New York on obstruction of justice charges.

A cache of emails obtained by the Dossier Center, which is a Russian opposition organization based in London, exposes the depth of foreign asset entanglement in Trump’s America at the precise moment that the president’s dealings with Ukrainian officials threaten to pull the Department of Justice and State Department into an unseemly impeachment fight.  

There's a lot to unpack here, and none of it seems quite Elmo-worthy, although my standards for that may be getting jaded. But the leaked emails do include this gem:


In 2017 Sessions told Congress, under oath, that he'd never discussed the Maginsky Act. I suppose its always possible the emailer is lying to Veselnitskaya.

Big if true, but I'll wait for confirmation from another source.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1185982639624392707

I’d think Jr was told by his counsel to take the fifth and therefore there was no reason for him to be compelled to testify. Idk what’s up with McGahn

Don Jr. almost certainly took the 5th.  In fact, I'd bet money on it given what we now know.  With McGahn, there's no reason to for Mueller to have him testify before a grand jury since he wasn't seeking to indict Trump for obstruction of justice.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Called it

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

And finally, the sentencing:

https://twitter.com/MMineiro_CNS/status/1230545749953392640

 Countdown to an immoral Trump pardon in 3,2,1...

I don't know about that; the sentence length seems very carefully balanced.  It's long enough to be a real punishment and send a message, while being below recommendations and short enough that criticism of it being too harsh (and thus justification for a pardon) would be kind of weak.

Yeah.  When you add in 24-months probation, mandatory drug-testing, and $20,000 USD in fines, it's a rather balanced sentence. 

Anything below (six months to a year, for instance) would have led to outcries of being "too lenient".   And while I'm no fan of Roger Stone, I did think that 7-9 years was a *bit* on the steep side. 

You are all aware that Roger Stone isn't going to serve a day of this sentence, or any sentence for that matter, aren't you? 

They should impeach Trump again if he pardons Stone.