The real importance of Paul Manafort’s transfer to Rikers Island

| 8:35 pm EDT June 6, 2019
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Fortunately, I’ve never been to Rikers Island. I’ll take the word of the experts who say that the place is a dump, with conditions that are harsh even by usual state prison standards. Now that Paul Manafort has been transferred there, some observers are celebrating the fact that the treasonous lowlife is in such a hellhole, while others arguing that no one should ever have to face the conditions that Manafort is facing. But this debate is beside the point.

Don’t get me wrong. Prison conditions and prison reform are an important debate that should be taking place in general – and if Manafort’s transfer brings more attention to that debate, then good. But as it relates to Manafort in particular, the answer is simple: he shouldn’t be facing any better prison conditions than any other New York State inmate, just because he once had the prestige of running a presidential campaign. If other prisoners belong at Rikers, then so does Manafort. If Manafort doesn’t deserve to suffer at Rikers while he awaits trial, then no one does, and it should be immediately shut it down. But again, the Manafort story isn’t about the conditions at Rikers.

The real story is that Paul Manafort is now in state prison. That’s because a few minutes after he was sentenced in his second and final federal trial, New York State immediately unsealed a felony indictment of its own against Manafort. He’s now been moved from federal prison to state prison because that’s the procesure for someone who’s about to go on trial for state level charges. It’s a reminder that even if Trump had pardoned Manafort – or even if Robert Mueller hadn’t been able to find a way to charge Manafort to begin with – Manafort would still be sitting in a Rikers Island jail cell right now, awaiting trial on state charges.

This matters because it’s precisely the fate that awaits Donald Trump and everyone in his circle who committed crimes in New York State – even if they managed to avoid being federally charged in the Mueller probe. Once Trump is no longer in office, he’ll be arrested and taken to Rikers Island to await trial. It’ll be the same story for anyone in Trump’s family or business empire who committed crimes, with the only difference being that such indictments won’t have to wait until Trump is out of office. Manafort is the first member of Trump’s entourage to see the inside of Rikers, but he won’t be the last.