Paul Manafort, you’ve been played

| 4:18 pm EDT March 29, 2018
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Hey Paul Manafort, we now know that sometime between five and ten months ago, Donald Trump had his attorney dangle a pardon in front of you and Michael Flynn. Flynn knew better than to take the bait, and he cut a plea deal with Robert Mueller instead. You never did flip, which means that you must have thought that pardon was coming. Well guess what, Paul?

Look around, Manafort. The pardons aren’t coming. The time for Trump to pardon you would have been back before you were arrested, back when Trump had more political muscle, and the general public was less aware of the true criminal nature of the Trump-Russia scandal. The very last chance for Trump to pardon you was just before your pal Rick Gates decided to cut a plea deal, because now Gates has told Mueller about every crime you’ve committed together over the past decade.

So what’s your play here, Paul? You know that even if Trump belatedly pardons you, which he won’t, you’ll still be facing state level charges, which Trump can’t pardon. What’s your play then? Are you gambling on beating the state charges in court? Good luck with that; New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is tough, and he’d be working with all of Mueller’s evidence, along with Gates’ testimony. The odds of beating those state level charges are minuscule. The most likely outcome is you’ll be on trial into your seventies, you’ll be found guilty, and you’ll die of old age in prison. And that’s if Trump pardons you on federal charges, which again, he won’t.

Anyway, Paul Manafort, you’ve been played. Donald Trump had his attorney wave a pardon in your face last year, that pardon never happened, and now the Trump attorney in question has resigned. There never was going to be any pardon. Trump has suckered you just like he’s suckered so many others in so many walks of life. It’s time to cut bait, Paul. Cut a plea deal with Mueller while you still can. The cavalry isn’t coming.