Politics First person sentenced in Russia probe draws 30 days

[SlyPokerDog]

WASHINGTON -- A Dutch attorney who lied to federal agents investigating former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced Tuesday to 30 days in prison in the first punishment handed down in special counsel's Russia investigation. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.

Alex van der Zwaan's sentence could set a guidepost for what other defendants charged with lying in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation may receive when their cases are resolved. Among them are a former White House national security adviser and a Trump campaign foreign policy aide.

Van der Zwaan had faced zero to six months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, and his attorneys had pushed for him to pay a fine and leave the country. But U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, citing the need to deter others from lying in an investigation of international importance, said incarceration was necessary.

http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2018/04/first_person_sentenced_in_russ.html

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

Means little to me. Lots of comments on yahoo that this sentence means he flipped on Trump....

 

[barfo]

Means little to me. Lots of comments on yahoo that this sentence means he flipped on Trump....

I don't think he did. If he'd flipped he wouldn't be going to jail at all.

barfo

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

I don't think he did. If he'd flipped he wouldn't be going to jail at all.

barfo

???

Wasn't facing a very long sentence anyway.

 

[barfo]

???

Wasn't facing a very long sentence anyway.

Right... but he wanted probation, and presumably could have gotten it if he'd made a deal. Instead, Mueller argued for jail time.

barfo

 

[barfo]

More interesting thing today is that Mueller revealed that he had specific authorization to go after Manafort for past crimes. So much for Manfort's entire defense strategy. Ha ha.

barfo

 

[Lanny]

I don't think he did. If he'd flipped he wouldn't be going to jail at all.

barfo

I disagree. I think Mueller is sending a message of don't tread on me. He could also be getting a light sentence because he flipped.

No, it's just not clear whether he flipped or not.

 

[barfo]

I disagree. I think Mueller is sending a message of don't tread on me. He could also be getting a light sentence because he flipped.

No, it's just not clear whether he flipped or not.

It was reported that he did not flip. But of course the reporting could be wrong.

barfo

 

[MARIS61]

More interesting thing today is that Mueller revealed that he had specific authorization to go after Manafort for past crimes. So much for Manfort's entire defense strategy. Ha ha.

barfo

Illegal secret authorization and a clear violation of the laws governing special counsels.

Pretty much grounds to throw out anything at all happening after the illegal secret authorization, which also implicates Rosenstein and Mueller as co-conspirators in election-rigging.

 

[CupWizier]

Illegal secret authorization and a clear violation of the laws governing special counsels.

Pretty much grounds to throw out anything at all happening after the illegal secret authorization, which also implicates Rosenstein and Mueller as co-conspirators in election-rigging.

cough bullshit, cough bull shit.

 

[barfo]

Illegal secret authorization and a clear violation of the laws governing special counsels.

Pretty much grounds to throw out anything at all happening after the illegal secret authorization, which also implicates Rosenstein and Mueller as co-conspirators in election-rigging.

Maybe you should put them on double-secret probation, Dean Wormer.

barfo

 

[barfo]

Apparently the judge told Manafort's lawyers today basically what I said last night:

Said Judge Amy Berman Jackson: “I don’t really understand what is left of your case.”

barfo

 

[MARIS61]

 

[Lanny]

Illegal secret authorization and a clear violation of the laws governing special counsels.

Pretty much grounds to throw out anything at all happening after the illegal secret authorization, which also implicates Rosenstein and Mueller as co-conspirators in election-rigging.

Nope, it was approved by the Deputy Attorney General in charge of the investigation.

Anyhow, he and Mueller will be indicted any day now.

 

[Lanny]

???

Wasn't facing a very long sentence anyway.

Two years.

 

[Lanny]

It was reported that he did not flip. But of course the reporting could be wrong.

barfo

I don't know how the reporters would know.

 

[barfo]

I don't know how the reporters would know.

Find someone who is willing to talk... e.g. van der Zwaan's lawyer's wife's friend.

barfo

 

[MARIS61]

I don't know how the reporters would know.

McCabe told them.

He tells them everything.

 

[Lanny]

Find someone who is willing to talk... e.g. van der Zwaan's lawyer's wife's friend.

barfo

Can you trust that to be the truth?

 

[barfo]

Can you trust that to be the truth?

Trust but verify. If van der Zwaan's cousin's hairdresser's lover says the same, then it's more likely to true.

barfo

 

[Further]

Two years.

Are you sure? I heard the max was 6 months.