September 18, 2017
By Sharon LaFraniere, Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman
Washington — Paul J. Manafort (click here) was in bed early one morning in July when federal agents bearing a search warrant picked the lock on his front door and raided his Virginia home. They took binders stuffed with documents and copied his computer files, looking for evidence that Mr. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, set up secret offshore bank accounts. They even photographed the expensive suits in his closet....
Paul Manafort is a very wealthy man. I am quite sure there were guns in the house and/or live-in help. The scenario could have been very different and the outcomes adverse to the investigation if there wasn't a passive entry into the home.
Picking a lock is not necessarily passive in the legal sense, but, it is in the physical sense. It provided a lot of control in a home environment with potential dangers. It protected the agents as well. The knock on the bedroom door occurred, in most likelihood, to prevent any defensive stance Mr. Manafort and his wife could have taken should the agents simply walked into the bedroom.
I wouldn't appreciate anyone picking the lock to my home, but, this was thoroughly thought out and received permission from the FISA judge. I think the FBI and Mr. Mueller did the absolute best they could given all the unknowns they faced.
Should Paul Manafort be viewed as a sympathetic figure? After all President Trump gave him a glowing review as a nice man, etc. Paul Manafort worked for a foreign government that is known to kill Ukrainians with changes to the map of that country. I don't think Paul Manafort is a sympathetic figure at all. He is a grown up and knew what he was doing.
