I would think that part of that plea and cooperation is termination of that agreement going forward.
Popehat thread about the plea agreement:
… the most relevant bit being:
Should read Manafort will remain in protective custody while he cooperates with prosecutors.
I think Trump is thinking “ruh roh” right around now.
Josh (and TPM) were among the first to notice the joint cooperation agreement with Manafort and Trump and to red flag it as a sign of impending pardon. The GIF cracked me up. He probably wasn’t that far wrong, but when they saw all the cards Mueller was holding, that was that.
This deal better pay off, and I’m talking years in prison for bigger bad guys, because I wanted Manafort to die in prison.
The deal caps his jail time at 10 years, so he may still do some time. But he’s losing everything, the asset forfeiture is enormous and he’s agreed to it.
Mueller and his team are just constantly blindsiding the press. He runs a helluva tight ship over there.
Yea, I’ve been reading some info as it comes out.
White House still denying everything.
“This had absolutely nothing to do with the President or his victorious 2016 Presidential campaign,” said press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders as the plea hearing was still going on. “It is totally unrelated.”
Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer for the Russia probe, said: “Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign.”
“The reason: the President did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth,” Giuliani said.
My favorite part:
Within minutes of Giuliani issuing that statement, another Trump lawyer, Jay Sekulow, sent a “corrected statement” to reporters that said the same thing but omitted the words “and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.”
That is both awesome and very depressing at the same time. He’s going to fight everything until the bitter end, drag it out as long as possible.
Was just telling the wife that I’d hate to play poker with him.
But is Manafort agreeing to talk candidly about his time with the Trump campaign as well?
He has to spill about anything they ask him about, or it all goes back on the table.
Good question! We have an update!
Kind of confused. Doesn’t publicly stating he agrees to participate in undercover activities render that whole thing useless?
It is saying that he’ll help/advise the Government with undercover activities. This can be tipping them on operations and helping them follow things, giving them advice on who to contact or what something means, or how different things are being achieved, etc etc. Helping untangle the knot and guiding law enforcement can be very valuable.
This is a fascinating story that touches upon that theme:
It might also be recognition of past cooperation. It is also useful messaging to other “un-indicted parties”.