I believe he will serve some time, probably at a minimum security prison. What Manafort and those so inclined have to understand is that it is never to occur again. His convictions are so grievous he will serve time somewhere.
I am glad for the Mueller investigation and team, they will get the entire picture and not simply bits and pieces. So, even with whatever shenanigans (including the confirmation of a completely unqualified and tainted Assistant Attorney General - that was quite a stunt) exists behind the scenes, the USA's justice is still the winner.
Also, if the US Justice Department is to constitutionally stand alone in it's purpose; there should be methods to offer a defendant the same type of relief as a sitting President can offer with a pardon.
The laws work. What constitutional crisis?
September 15, 2018
By Deanna Paul
Three days before (click here) the D.C.-based trial against Paul Manafort was set to begin, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III raised eyebrows in the legal community when his office filed a new charging document. Many began to wonder whether an announcement about a plea agreement with Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, was coming down the pipeline.
One did.
I’m a former assistant district attorney, and even after news of the plea broke on Friday, I didn’t think Manafort stood to gain much from a cooperation deal.
I still don’t. What’s clear, though, is that Manafort was out of cards to play....
...Mueller holds the keys. Manafort will almost certainly go to prison, notwithstanding the agreement, and only Mueller can bring the sentencing judge’s attention to Manafort’s efficacy or value. If Mueller doesn’t make the motion, the judge cannot consider it.
The caveat, though, is that a federal judge is never locked in. He merely takes Mueller’s recommendations under advisement....
