A federal district court judge ruled Wednesday that Paul Manafort, the former head of Individual I's campaign for president, intentionally lied to the Special Counsel, FBI and the grand jury investigating the Russian Connection and therefore voided his plea agreement. Absent a presidential pardon, Manafort, age 70, can look forward to the remainder of his life confined in prison. As part of his agreement to cooperate, federal prosecutors agreed not to charge him with additional crimes. His sentencing is scheduled for March 13th before Judge Amy Jackson. She decided after a series of confidential hearings that Manafort lied in three of five areas alleged by federal prosecutors. The core of the lies concern Manafort's meetings with Konstantin Kilimnik, a known Russian intelligence operative, whom he met before
and after the campaign. He also lied about a payment routed through a pro-Trump political action committee (PAC) to cover the King of Debt's legal bills. The only open question is: was Manafort operating as a free agent or, on behalf of his boss--in short, a
conspiracy? Senator Howard Baker asked a similar question during the Watergate Affair, "what did he know and when did he know it"? We all know now that Tricky Dick was behind the burglary and the subsequent White House cover up of the crime.
US Person expects a similar result this time around. The big difference is that Nixon's collusion did not implicate national security, or foreign policy toward an adversarial foreign power.
A secret meeting took place on August 2nd between Manafort, his deputy Rick Gates and Kilimnik where the situation in the Ukraine was discussed, a subject of
intense interest to the Kremlin. Allegedly a proposed resolution of the Ukraine conflict was put forward by Kilimnik, and campaign polling data apparently handed over to Kilimnik. During this time, the candidate stepped up his friendly rhetoric towards Russia. If the meeting and its content is corroborated, it is a direct link between the campaign and Russian intelligence attempting to influence the 2016 campaign--the so-called "
quid pro quo". An expert on the use of polling data says
it is a mistake to treat modern polling data as mere briefing material. As Cambridge Analytics showed us, polling data can be used to target in great specificity persons--voters--likely to be persuaded or influenced by the messenger. Manafort's lack of candor after agreeing to cooperate with federal authorities, puts him in a
tremendous bind. If he reveals to investigators what he is hiding, he may destroy any chance he has at a presidential pardon since the secret may be so dark that it will unseat the current occupant of the White House. Avoiding this risk may cost him what remains of his freedom for the rest of his life. US Person's head is already spinning.
