Althouse: Prosecutor tells the jury that Manafort owned a $15,000 “jacket made from an ostrich" and had a "golden goose in Ukraine."

July 31, 2018

Prosecutor tells the jury that Manafort owned a $15,000 “jacket made from an ostrich" and had a "golden goose in Ukraine."

An oddly avian first day of trial.

(HuffPo's report.)

Why do I find it so funny that he said "jacket made from an ostrich" instead of "jacket made of ostrich leather" (or "ostrich leather jacket")? It creates a sense that it's very weird to appropriate animals for the manufacture of items for human comfort and pleasure. But only a comedian would say, That man is wearing shoes made from a cow!

115 comments:

MadisonMan said...: An Ostrich Jacket! Clearly a guilty man.

Pretty weak sauce.; 7/31/18, 6:37 PM
Henry said...: He's no Björk, that's for sure.; 7/31/18, 6:45 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: wearing shoes; 7/31/18, 6:47 PM
Michael K said...: A show trial right out of the old Soviet Union. Stalin would be so proud. And Beria.; 7/31/18, 6:48 PM
cacimbo said...: That they are trying to criminalize his "lavish lifestyle", to prejudice the jury against him. He either evaded taxes or he did not. What he did with the money is not relevant. Another example of the corruption of our legal system.; 7/31/18, 6:52 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: I wish Robert "The FBI Whitewasher" Mueller were investigating the murder of Seth Rich rather than investigating Paul Manafort's expensive stuff.; 7/31/18, 6:52 PM
The Bergall said...: If the ostrich fits, you must convict..................; 7/31/18, 6:52 PM
Quayle said...: Hillary Clinton sold one hours worth of talking for $200,000
Nothing to see here. Move along! move along!; 7/31/18, 6:55 PM
Birkel said...: The judge should grant a retrial - at least - because of the prejudicial nature (and no probative value) of this information.; 7/31/18, 6:55 PM
madAsHell said...: That man is wearing shows made from a cow!

shows == shoes ??; 7/31/18, 6:56 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Paul Manafort was on Donald Trump's campaign staff for about 15 weeks.

Robert "The FBI Whitewasher" Mueller is going to get Manafort for that crime.; 7/31/18, 6:56 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Shouldn't the FBI have to register as an agent of the Democrat Party?

Shouldn't Robert "The FBI Whitewasher" Mueller likewise have to register himself?; 7/31/18, 6:58 PM
David Begley said...: Hillary has a dress made out of drapery.; 7/31/18, 6:59 PM
Rob said...: The only relevance I can imagine is that while wearing the ostrich jacket, Manafort thought he could hide his head in the sand.; 7/31/18, 6:59 PM
Christopher said...: Huffpo perfectly meets my expectation by failing to include a brief interruption by the judge around this part of the prosecution's opening argument: "It is not a crime to have lots of money and spend lavishly."; 7/31/18, 7:00 PM
Henry said...: Too bad Manafort didn't have a jacket made of Beluga caviar. That would have been really fishy.; 7/31/18, 7:00 PM
Bill Peschel said...: I prefer to think he made his suit from an ostrich.

I hope his defense attorney reads Althouse. He could use this during his summation.; 7/31/18, 7:01 PM
Chuck said...: Michael K said...
A show trial right out of the old Soviet Union. Stalin would be so proud. And Beria.

In that case a Northern Virginia jury and a federal judge will see right through it and acquit him.; 7/31/18, 7:01 PM
Jersey Fled said...: I forget. What is Manifort charged with again?; 7/31/18, 7:02 PM
Henry said...: I have a jacket made from fossil fuels.; 7/31/18, 7:03 PM
stephen cooper said...: Michael K. - of course it is a show trial.

Lots of the worst Soviet villains had a legal education.

Most people do not know that.; 7/31/18, 7:03 PM
Henry said...: The only relevance I can imagine is that while wearing the ostrich jacket, Manafort thought he could hide his head in the sand.

Or his head up his ass, which has kind of the same effect.; 7/31/18, 7:04 PM
stephen cooper said...: By the way, Michael K, another thing a lot of people do not know is that a lot of those bloodthirsty Soviet villains who ran those show trials were, like many people you hear about in the news, at the "top of their law school classes", or close to being at the top of their law school classes.

Think about it. They were the sort of people who, had they been born in America, would have had very high LSATs and nice houses in the suburbs. Instead, they got stuck with "premium" apartments in Moscow and a place in the "nomenklatura" where, God forgive them, the "foreign" bottles of wine, and Crimean cigarettes, and nice coats for the wife were their most expensive rewards. And for those rewards, they played the role of the evil coward at show trials.

Not saying Mueller is as bad as that, but I look at the eyes of the man, in the pictures that the newspapers publish, and I do not see much in the way of honesty or virtue.; 7/31/18, 7:09 PM
Jaq said...: Hillary has a dress made out of drapery

I thought it was a tablecloth.; 7/31/18, 7:10 PM
FullMoon said...: Convict him for being rich. Can defense use other rich people's stuff for contrast?
Some people pay millions for old pictures painted by guys who are now dead.; 7/31/18, 7:10 PM
Henry said...: Tessio comes back, carrying Luca Brasi's bullet-proof vest in his hand. He unwraps it; there is an ostrich head wrapped inside.

CLEMENZA: A Ukranian message: Luca Brasi sleeps with the ostriches.; 7/31/18, 7:11 PM
FullMoon said...: Hillary has a dress made out of drapery

I thought it was a tablecloth.
Reminds me, I need a new car cover. Gonna go all-weather this time.; 7/31/18, 7:11 PM
Mark said...: High LSATs and nice houses, along with being a brilliant legal mind .... Stephen Cooper seems to be describing Althouse, not Mueller.; 7/31/18, 7:13 PM
Jaq said...: shows == shoes ??

Freudian slip for show trial. Oh Manafort's probably guilty, but had he not worked for Trump, he would be eating Borscht at the Russian Tea Room tomorrow morning, instead of wearing manacles.; 7/31/18, 7:13 PM
Jaq said...: BTW, they can really put a shine on a bowl of borscht at that place.; 7/31/18, 7:14 PM
Chuck said...: Jersey Fled said...
I forget. What is Manifort charged with again?

Tax evasion, bank reporting, bank fraud. That's in this indictment. The first Manafort indictment. The Virginia indictment:
https://www.justice.gov/file/1038391/download

Then there is the DC indictment:
https://www.justice.gov/file/1070326/download

Conspiracy, false statements, obstruction, FARA reporting, unregistered foreign agent, money laundering.; 7/31/18, 7:17 PM
Michael said...: Leona Helmsley, Conrad Black and Martha Stewart were all convicted for being rich. And arrogant.; 7/31/18, 7:18 PM
Chuck said...: tim in vermont said...
shows == shoes ??

Freudian slip for show trial. Oh Manafort's probably guilty, but had he not worked for Trump, he would be eating Borscht at the Russian Tea Room tomorrow morning, instead of wearing manacles.

Bad stuff seems to happen to everybody who gets mixed up with Trump. Bankers who get stiffed; partners who get burned; ghost authors; Trump University students; members of Congress; cabinet members.; 7/31/18, 7:19 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Did he lawfully earn the $$ to buy the Ostrich Jacket?

If so, who gives a fuck how he spent it?; 7/31/18, 7:19 PM
Tank said...: I hope the Judge took note that, right from the get go, the prosecution is cheating, as they often do. No correction from the Judge will make the jurors "unhear" this obviously irrelevant, immaterial, prejudicial statement.

Will they be providing testimony to establish that he in fact wore an ostrich jacket?

I note that prosecutors cheat like this all the time; it's one reason Tank is opposed to the death penalty.; 7/31/18, 7:23 PM
stephen cooper said...: Mark - no I was not describing Althouse, I have read her descriptions of how she conducted her con-law classes. My take, for what it is worth: while she is a liberal she seems fairly open-minded, and while I think she is tragically wrong about abortion law (first amendment, fifth amendment, ninth amendment, fourteenth amendment, and the natural law context thereof - I could go on) she is no more tragically wrong than is almost every other non-token law professor her age.

Even privileged high-LSAT boys like Scalia (who foolishly stated that states can rule, without violating the law of the United States, that abortion is legal) and the over-praised former solicitor general Fried have, in spite of their stellar LSATs, said really stupid things on that subject, so I cannot take them seriously as thinkers.

As for Ann Althouse, I can't imagine her going full Nifong the way poor Mueller has.

I kind of respect Mueller, he spent some time in Vietnam, but on the other hand he seems to be one of those guys who have profited way too much from a few months spent in the proximity of enemy fire . I mean, I had a few incompetent foreign combatants target me a few times too, but I have never profited from that, I always worked for a living after my very short stint in a war zone. Then again , Mueller is rich and powerful and I am just some guy writing a comment on a website. Then again, Mueller is a fool, and I am not , so there is that.; 7/31/18, 7:24 PM
D. said...: The defense should open by questioning whether the appointment of Mueller is constitutional under U.S. Constitution - Article 2 Section 2.; 7/31/18, 7:25 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: "Hillary has a dress made out of drapery."

She's always been a big Sound of Music fan.

'Thorns on the roses and tacos from kittens,
Bottles of vodka and Huma in mittens'; 7/31/18, 7:26 PM
Big Mike said...: In that case a Northern Virginia jury and a federal judge will see right through it and acquit him.

Su-u-u-re

What is Manifort charged with again?

Russia collusion, er, no, making money from Russia’s enemy. You can almost picture Obama stepping out of his $8.1 Million home in Washington to wag his finger and say “At a certain point you’ve made enough money.”; 7/31/18, 7:26 PM
Seeing Red said...: I’d love an ostrich purse or an alligator purse or boots.; 7/31/18, 7:31 PM
Lucien said...: Not that this case is for the birds, but the funniest thing I have ever seen is two ostriches mating. (To be fair, five ostriches mating might be even funnier, but . . ); 7/31/18, 7:35 PM
Chuck said...: D. said...
The defense should open by questioning whether the appointment of Mueller is constitutional under U.S. Constitution - Article 2 Section 2.

Who would they "question"? It's not an issue for the jury; and the trial judge already decided it:

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/15/manafort-mueller-indictment-590215; 7/31/18, 7:35 PM
Lucien said...: By the way, anywhere else there would be three dots in my ellipses, but this is Althouse, so by convention . .; 7/31/18, 7:36 PM
Leland said...: I have boots made from an Ostrich. Oh wait, maybe I shouldn't have posted that information.; 7/31/18, 7:45 PM
Birkel said...: The judge should have taken the constitutional question seriously. But he didn’t. The Deep State must be forced inside the rule of law. Obama’s weaponization of the Deep State is the biggest threat we face as a country.; 7/31/18, 7:47 PM
readering said...: I've sat in on a trial of financial crimes. Deadly dull. Jury needs the occasional avian image to spice things up. I'm picturing a coat of black and white ostrich feathers . . . .; 7/31/18, 7:51 PM
narciso said...: So podesta Weber and Craig, get referred to a southern district prosecutors for the same offenses, how's that chuck, they were subcontractors to manafort?; 7/31/18, 7:55 PM
StoughtonSconnie said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/31/18, 7:55 PM
StoughtonSconnie said...: I have it on good authority that Manafort sometimes wears t-shirts that are made of plants that used to be harvested by slaves(racist!), and he also owns boxers that are made from the boiled cocoons of worms that were raised in captivity(animal cruelty)!

Having been briefly associated with Trump is enough to throw him in solitary for life, clearly. But with the hate crime enhancers that his odd clothing habits clearly warrant, they might as well skip the trial and fire up Old Sparky.; 7/31/18, 7:56 PM
WK said...: I have a pair of ostrich boots. Not sure why I keep them. He doesn’t like going out when it is muddy.; 7/31/18, 8:01 PM
stephen cooper said...: Chuck at 7:35 = you only need one citizen to believe that "jury nullification" is appropriate.

The "constitutional" argument is, of course, a question of law, for the judge and not the jury, but some sad sack judge going all Al Franken and dismissing it out of hand, in that condescending way the judges and Al Frankenses of this world are prone to, is a big help towards the "jury nullification" result.

Of course, having not one but two Podestas testify against the defendant is gonna be big, too.

I am not predicting anything, but the facts are the facts.

We all know that if poor Manafort is sitting in jail as a political prisoner in November 2020 there are going to be millions and millions of Republicans who would rather not vote for the guy who let that happen and who will sit home and wait for the next opportunity. I mean I will vote for the Republican - hopefully Trump - who is running, but millions of others are not as clear-sighted about these things as I am.; 7/31/18, 8:01 PM
narciso said...: Manafort paid podesta and Weber and segar and Friedman, Craig was the managing partner over young son in law of khaan; 7/31/18, 8:02 PM
narciso said...: The one who worked for uranium one and rusnanos or the one that embezzled the lobbying money in bad art.; 7/31/18, 8:05 PM
Chuck said...: Birkel said...
The judge should have taken the constitutional question seriously. But he didn’t. The Deep State must be forced inside the rule of law. Obama’s weaponization of the Deep State is the biggest threat we face as a country.

Oh, right. Have they given us a trial date yet, on "People of the United States v. The Deep State"? It's not scheduled until after the midterm elections, right? Who's our trial judge on that case? Do you happen to know the case number?; 7/31/18, 8:06 PM
Jaq said...: How many shares of that Gazprom owned company did Podesta have? 75 thousand? Weird how the value of that Russian company collapsed soon after Hillary lost. Strange. Unaccountable . .; 7/31/18, 8:06 PM
Jaq said...: I am sure Mueller will be all over it.; 7/31/18, 8:07 PM
Chuck said...: Stephen Cooper said...
Chuck at 7:35 = you only need one citizen to believe that "jury nullification" is appropriate.

Wanna bet, on a "nullification" verdict in this case? What you are describing is not really jury nullification (a "not guilty" verdict based on the jury's belief that the law was unjust).

What you are describing is a hung jury. For which there would be a re-trial.; 7/31/18, 8:08 PM
Jaq said...: Who was leaking those transcripts of the wiretaps to the New York Times if not the “deep state” Chuck?; 7/31/18, 8:09 PM
narciso said...: They also have a tech component:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2017/07/05/uncovering-the-russia-ties-of-hillarys-campaign-chief/amp/; 7/31/18, 8:10 PM
Ralph L said...: I don't see how a trial that goes on for weeks, as this one is bound to, can possibly be fair for either side. The juries I was on (in Alexandria city court) had a hard enough time dealing with ~4 hours of trial.; 7/31/18, 8:10 PM
Chuck said...: tim in vermont said...
Who was leaking those transcripts of the wiretaps to the New York Times if not the “deep state” Chuck?

I don't know; I think that to answer your question, you'd have to wait in the tinfoil section of your local supermarket and find some other nutcase who believed in the existence of a "deep state."; 7/31/18, 8:13 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: a Northern Virginia jury and a federal judge will see right through it and acquit him.

A Northern Virginia jury made of government workers who hate and fear Trump. Right.

Where does the judge fit into an acquittal in a jury trial?; 7/31/18, 8:13 PM
Jaq said...: Manafort will be convicted. The same Republicans who made sure that nobody in the party would help him set up his administration will cheer that their plan to cut off Trump from traditional party support worked! Except that their party is now dead. We may end up ruled by Bernie Sanders Democrats, but if we avoid that fate, it won’t be the Chuckservatives that prevent it.; 7/31/18, 8:15 PM
narciso said...: Well judge Ellis has proven to be fairly circumspect, now German Jackson, Jefferson's for counsel has not been.; 7/31/18, 8:15 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: Chuckles is behind on his talking points. The WaPo as moved onto the "Thank God for the Deep State" position.

Do try to keep up.; 7/31/18, 8:17 PM
Jaq said...: I don’t know; I think that to answer your question, you'd have to wait in the tinfoil section of your local supermarket and find some other nutcase who believed in the existence of a "deep state."

It was a simple question Chuck. Where did the transcripts come from? Who leaked them to the New York Times?; 7/31/18, 8:17 PM
Jaq said...: Fun as trying to deprogram Chuckles is, I am going to tag out out of respect for Althouse’s wishes regarding this kind of nonsense.; 7/31/18, 8:21 PM
Ficta said...: I have a pair of ostrich boots. They're very comfortable. Boot fans call them "socks with soles". They weren't particularly expensive either. You can get ostrich burger at the grocery store, for heaven's sake.; 7/31/18, 8:23 PM
Michael K said...: Blogger tim in vermont said...
Manafort will be convicted.

I suspect Ellis will dismiss it with prejudice for prosecutorial misconduct. He has already warned that the word Trump is not to be mentioned.; 7/31/18, 8:25 PM
Michael K said...: In that case a Northern Virginia jury and a federal judge will see right through it and acquit him.

I have little to no faith in DC juries, which is what that is. A DC jury with 7 blacks named Nixon an unindicted co-conspirator.

I do think Ellis sees through this and might grant a defense motion to dismiss. Let the prosecution present their case, such as it is.; 7/31/18, 8:28 PM
narciso said...: I think he's leaning that way, he should have dismissed the indictment with prejudice to prevent refiling.; 7/31/18, 8:30 PM
Chuck said...: Michael K said...
In that case a Northern Virginia jury and a federal judge will see right through it and acquit him.

I have little to no faith in DC juries, which is what that is. A DC jury with 7 blacks named Nixon an unindicted co-conspirator.

I do think Ellis sees through this and might grant a defense motion to dismiss. Let the prosecution present their case, such as it is.

Wanna bet on that, Michael K?; 7/31/18, 8:33 PM
narciso said...: I think the chances are 50/50, noe the Stevens jury convicted despite missing some critical pieces,of evidence. So did the delay jury in Austin, as with the McDonnell one in richmond.; 7/31/18, 8:40 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: I would guess that Manafort did break the laws. Much like every other campaign consultant. So Mueller should get an easy, if unfair, conviction.

Then Trump should pardon based on the obvious unfairness and selective prosecution.; 7/31/18, 8:42 PM
narciso said...: The first they found serious evidentiary and procedural malpractice, the other two were reversed on appeal.; 7/31/18, 8:42 PM
narciso said...: What did he report on his income tax in that period, they tell you how much he made so?; 7/31/18, 8:44 PM
traditionalguy said...: Trust the Jury. When a clear case of railroaded charges isbeing made by The State to CYA of The State, the Jury is quick to acquit. The idea that not mentioniong this is all about Donald Trump will keep that 800 pound gorilla of a sine qua non factoid out of the Jury room is a legal fiction.; 7/31/18, 8:46 PM
Darrell said...: Manafort refinanced his home. In the loan application he stated an income. On his taxes, he gave a different total. That's the alleged bank fraud. But then Mueller uses that income on the bank application to charge him with tax evasion. See? It was a lie when he told it to the bank, but it is the truth when it comes to owing taxes. Got it? Btw, this matter was already looked at by Federal prosecutors and they declined to prosecute. Banks know people overstate income, so they deduct a proprietary percentage to allow for that when they decide if the loan is viable.; 7/31/18, 8:47 PM
Tank said...: Michael K said...

In that case a Northern Virginia jury and a federal judge will see right through it and acquit him.

I have little to no faith in DC juries, which is what that is. A DC jury with 7 blacks named Nixon an unindicted co-conspirator.

I do think Ellis sees through this and might grant a defense motion to dismiss. Let the prosecution present their case, such as it is.

You might want to think it will work this way, but in real life it very rarely does.; 7/31/18, 8:48 PM
Darrell said...: A SWAT team should do a no-knock raid on Chuck's house and paw Chuck's blowup girlfriend in bed. That'll get his goat.; 7/31/18, 8:51 PM
Birkel said...: Althouse rules make wagering on this site a serious offense. Some people have little respect.

Manafort may very well be guilty. That does not set aside the procedural issues. I also believe this prosecution is likely full of prosecutorial misconduct. There may be a conviction and reversal.

Mueller’s record is mediocre in high profile cases.; 7/31/18, 8:52 PM
narciso said...: Well that's ridiculous, but then so much of This is, starting with the dossier that led to the visa warrant.; 7/31/18, 8:53 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: @traditional guy
without the pen of the author of Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain; 7/31/18, 8:54 PM
Jersey Fled said...: Trump will pardon Manifort if he is convicted. He will base it on disparate treatment that Democrats got (immunity) versus what Manifort got (5:00 AM break in by the FBI when he was already cooperating, solitary confinement instead of bail ...)

Half of the population will cheer him for it, while the other half will go apeshit over it and call him Hitler.

Pretty much like everything else.; 7/31/18, 8:58 PM
Birkel said...: Darrell,
I wanted a clean loan application so only included my primary job and not any ancillary income. It was enough.

I guess I was risking jail.

Who knows?; 7/31/18, 8:59 PM
Chuck said...: Birkel said...
Althouse rules make wagering on this site a serious offense. Some people have little respect.

Manafort may very well be guilty. That does not set aside the procedural issues. I also believe this prosecution is likely full of prosecutorial misconduct. There may be a conviction and reversal.

Mueller’s record is mediocre in high profile cases.

What rules? What exactly are the Althouse rules? Any others, or is "no wagering" the only rule? I promise not to tell if you also won't.; 7/31/18, 9:01 PM
narciso said...: Well he did try to put Stephen hatfill in jail, that cost the bureau a 5.5 million dollar apology, he tried with aipac lobbyists, despite the fact that white was painting Boston red, he seemed to miss all of his henchman.; 7/31/18, 9:06 PM
PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...: Blogger Stephen Cooper said...

By the way, Michael K, another thing a lot of people do not know is that a lot of those bloodthirsty Soviet villains who ran those show trials were, like many people you hear about in the news, at the "top of their law school classes", or close to being at the top of their law school classes.

No doubt they were life ling republicans (tm) too, right?

John Henry; 7/31/18, 9:22 PM
PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...: Actually, every British office knows that shoes (boots) must be made of porpoise. Officers who wear shoes made of cow are decidedly second rate and to be sniffed at.

A man like Manafort, with all his Ukranian millions would never wear cow.

Just ask Apthorpe.

John Henry; 7/31/18, 9:28 PM
PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...: Blogger Darrell said...

A SWAT team should do a no-knock raid on Chuck's house and paw Chuck's blowup girlfriend in bed. That'll get his goat.

It's late, I'm going to bed shortly and now I'll probably have weird dreams. Chuck, a blow-up doll and a goat? In Bed?

I really would have preferred not to know.

John Henry; 7/31/18, 9:36 PM
Michael K said...: but in real life it very rarely does.

It did with Ted Stevens but it was too late.

We'll see.; 7/31/18, 9:40 PM
mccullough said...: Trump will just issue pardons like HW Bush did to Cap Weinberger and his other buddies, Clinton did for Susan McDougal and his other buddies, or maybe just pull a W and commute the sentences to time served.

Obama was even better. He just didn’t prosecute his friends like Jon Corrine who stole $1.6 billion in client trust money to try and keep his dogshit company afloat. Mueller was head of the FBI when that fiasco hit. Did nothing as usual. Totally worthless while $1.6 billion is stolen. Couldn’t give a fuck because Sideshow Bob does what he’s told. Obama says, keep your mouth shut Bob and Bob does it.

Mueller is and always was a hack. Go after Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens (who walked away without convictions) while guys like Corzine skate and the actual anthrax killer gets away with it. $5.5 million fuckup Bob. He should have paid for it out of his own pocket but no accountability for Sideshow Bob.

NFL lawyer Sideshow Bob. One of DC’s honorable men. A W and Obama lackey like Comey. What a great career being the piss boy for those two idiots.; 7/31/18, 9:48 PM
n.n said...: The baby hunt only became viable after democracy died in Ukraine.; 7/31/18, 10:01 PM
Gospace said...: Chuck said...
...
What you are describing is a hung jury. For which there would be a re-trial.

Might be a retrial. In a case like this, a retrial is less likely, as the initial trial itself is already seen by much of the public as a political show trial. Sending it back to trial after a first loss- and a hung jury is a loss for the prosecution, will convince even more people it's a political show trial. Which it is.; 7/31/18, 10:42 PM
Drago said...: LOL

LLR Chuck is literally months behind on his democrat/lefty talking points.

Well, he'll always have lunatic lefty Inga to buck him up.

So he's got that going for him, which is nice.; 7/31/18, 11:10 PM
Drago said...: Can you imagine how horrific tonight's rally in Tampa must be for LLR Chuck?

Republicans out supporting other republicans? An absolute LLR Chuck nightmare.; 7/31/18, 11:42 PM
Wince said...: Deputy U.S. Attorney General [Rosenstein] empowered [Mueller] to investigate “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump,” and matters arising from that.)

Kind of a blinkered and conflict riddled mandate from Rosenstein who himself signed a FISA warrant application based on the Clinton/DNC funded, Russian-sourced dossier. Basically he used his and Sessions potential conflicts to target Trump and exclude Hillary from scrutiny.; 7/31/18, 11:55 PM
Clyde said...: If being rich and spending profligately IS a crime, then they better frog-march the entire goddamn Congress of the United States off to jail.; 8/1/18, 12:26 AM
Yancey Ward said...: I would be embarrassed as a prosecutor to use tactics like this- what he spent the money on is irrelevant. Were I judge, I would preclude all such testimony- stick to the facts that actually support the charges of tax evasion- if they exist, the jury doesn't need to hate the guy's lifestyle choices.

Obviously, I am not a prosecutor, but any American worth the name should be embarrassed to be represented by a government that tries to use such tactics to convict a man, even if you think he deserves conviction. There is something more to the criminal justice system than just winning. How you do it matters, or it should if justice is the goal.; 8/1/18, 12:40 AM
exhelodrvr1 said...: "if justice is the goal"

It's not, for both defense and prosecution.; 8/1/18, 4:02 AM
h said...: The judge slapped down the prosecutor for using his opening statements to describe the extravagance of Manafort's spending. (And the charges against Manafort don't stop at saying "Manafort laundered foreign income to avoid paying US taxes"; the charge is "Manafort used his hidden overseas wealth to finance a lavish lifestyle without paying taxes on that income". )

So the prosecutor believes that the lavishness of the lifestyle is something that will work in his favor in the eyes of the jurors.

I see the prosecutor has a Yale law degree; but do others believe he is competent? I can't imagine being interrupted by the judge in your opening remarks is a good way to begin the trial. And may open the way for further reminders by the judge that buying expensive suits is not a federal crime. Which may serve to undercut this whole line attack.; 8/1/18, 5:18 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/1/18, 5:21 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/1/18, 5:23 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/1/18, 5:28 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: “jacket made from an ostrich"

"golden goose in Ukraine."

Let's try and be worthy of Althousian pedanticism. Can you really make a leather jacket from the hide of *one* ostrich? Or a down jacket from the feathers of, again, *one*?

As for "golden goose," the prosecutor, fully worthy of Robert Mueller, that scion of Princeton, Vietnam, Bulger and Hatfill, is now pressing charges, quite literally, and not at all figuratively or virtually, in the realm of FAIRY TALES!

That, and/or he's got an avian fetish.

(Congress truly is a rubber stamp. How else did this turd blossom ever get confirmed for anything? He may be worse than Nifong!)

Chuck, no one will bet with you, for five reasons.

First, because Althouse rules that we abjure wagering on this site.

Second, because the good name of NoVa juries and federal judges is not what it once was.

Third, because you are not, in the eyes of the Althouse court of public opinion, an honorable man, plus you are quite insane and nobody would give you their contact information for settlement.

Fourth, because gambling debts are unenforceable, the more so as I believe that private wagers are illegal, though my source is a fictional character:

"“See Plessy v. Novick,” Delaney retorted. “The court held a private unpaid wager between two persons cannot be a matter for judicial decision only because the wager itself was illegal.”"

Fifth, because wagering to prove a point has been bush league ever since Romney tried it on Perry at that debate in 2012. We expect bush league from you, Chuck, but we don't expect it from ourselves.; 8/1/18, 5:30 AM
Birkel said...: If you want to know the history of unenforceable gambling debts, read up on the Rule in Queen Anne’s Case.; 8/1/18, 5:56 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: This?

Reports of All the Cases Decided by All the Superior Courts ...
https://books.google.com › books
Great Britain. Courts · 1878 · Law reports, digests, etc
4 Ch. D. 395), where the Master of the Rolls says that the rule applies not only when the ... 734), decided that bequests to Queen Anne's Bounty were void, because the money ...; 8/1/18, 6:35 AM
Anonymous said...: Komodo dragon boots would go great with an ostrich jacket. But, I don't think I would wear
them to court.; 8/1/18, 6:42 AM
hiawatha biscayne said...: Apthorpe's porpoise's! Ha! Very good.; 8/1/18, 7:45 AM
Bob R said...: My Tecovas ostrich skin boots (in black) are my favorite shoes. I guess it would be risky to wear them in court on the east coast or the mid-west. Mandatory in Texas.; 8/1/18, 9:22 AM
roesch/voltaire said...: Birds of a feather Trump voters can easily relate to this life style.; 8/1/18, 10:02 AM
JohnAnnArbor said...: Any tiny giraffes?; 8/1/18, 3:54 PM
Jason said...: Wait til they get a load of Kamehameha The Great; 8/2/18, 4:15 AM
Kirk Parker said...: Quayle,

Hillary Clinton sold one hours' worthless talking for $200,000

FIFY; 8/2/18, 11:26 AM
Kirk Parker said...: Kamehameha is nothing, compared to Kamanawanalaya.; 8/2/18, 11:29 AM