You get a prison sentence, you get a prison sentence, you get a prison sentence…
Oprah once famously began yelling “You get a car, you get a car, you get a car” at her various audience members after she had just given each of them a brand new car. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is working on a different slogan of sorts when it comes to the Trump-Russia scandal: “You get a prison sentence, you get a prison sentence, you get a prison sentence” – and we’re now seeing that play out in real time.
Donald Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort has managed to blow things so badly, he’s behind bars right now despite not having pleaded guilty or been convicted of anything. But even as Manafort rots in jail for having conspired with a Russian spy to try to tamper with witnesses against him, his colleagues are fast finding their way to a cell as well.
This week the sentencing date for Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos was set for September 7th. While he’ll likely end up with a short prison sentence, other key players are facing longer stints. Robert Mueller filed court papers today asking for a two month delay on Michael Flynn’s sentencing, a signal that Mueller needs Flynn’s cooperation awhile longer. But as per his plea deal, Flynn is heading to prison once Mueller no longer needs him, and it’ll likely be for years. The same goes for Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates.
That’s before getting to Donald Trump’s longtime fixer Michael Cohen, who is looking for a plea deal according to three major news networks, and Trump’s longtime friend Roger Stone, who is on the verge of being indicted by a Robert Mueller grand jury. And of course this is just what we know about, based on court filings and media reports. This is before getting to whatever Trump-Russia grand juries and indictments that are going on under the radar. Keep in mind that no one even knew about Papadopoulos’ arrest and plea deal until four months after it happened.
