What Happened with Paul Manafort Today: The Truth Behind His Decision
As usual, the Trump haters have concluded what Manafort is going to say. However, there hasn’t been a specific law or statute seen that indicates any violations. As usual, we are back to speculation. There is a leak coming, and it might even be accurate for a change.
Manafort Decides to Tell the Truth
Paul Manafort, the former Director of Foreign Policy for the Trump campaign, made a surprising decision today. He decided to tell the truth to investigators rather than continuing to protect the President’s web of lies. This move suggests that Manafort believes his chances of avoiding conviction are slim to none.
The Art of the Deal
Manafort likely learned from his lawyer that his chances of beating the ten charges from the first trial in a retrial were remote. The only reason he hadn’t been convicted in the first place was due to a Trump-supporting holdout on the jury. Moreover, Trump had not pardoned him, and Manafort had watched as Trump allowed Michael Cohen to face the music without offering any help or a pardon, despite public pleading.
Manafort’s decision to avoid a lifetime in prison shows he is now prioritizing self-preservation. Mueller now holds the leverage, having outlined conditions of complete cooperation and dangling the carrot of not retrying Manafort in the ten charges of the first trial and dropping the charges in the second case. Manafort, the master of the deal, took the offer.
The Implications of His Move
Manafort’s decision to cooperate sets the stage for a series of revelations that could significantly impact the political landscape. He may be able to describe and document the messages that settled the agreement between Trump and Putin. This agreement likely involved Putin promising to help Trump get elected in exchange for Trump’s efforts to lift or lessen sanctions against Russia and its oligarch friends.
Manafort may also be able to document any blackmail threats Putin held over Trump. With this information, the narratives of President Trump’s surrogates and defenders will change. Rather than claiming there is no evidence of collusion, they will likely have to admit that conspiracy to defraud the United States and its electorate through election fraud is not a trivial matter.
Strategic Missteps of the Trump Administration
Paul Manafort's decision further highlights the strategic missteps of the Trump administration. By not pardoning Cohen, Trump demonstrated a lack of follow-through on promises and a failure to effectively strategize. Had Trump pardoned Cohen as a comforting message to Manafort, it could have set a precedent and potentially steered Manafort’s decision to cooperate.
In conclusion, Paul Manafort's move now sets the stage for a series of revelations that could rock the political world. The truth, as he tells it, may finally come to light, and the implications of that truth will have far-reaching consequences.