Paul Manafort, GO THE F*CK TO NEW YORK JAIL WHENEVER YOU GET DONE WITH FEDERAL JAIL!

Trump can't save you now!

We knew Paul Manafort was likely to be nabbed on state charges not long after he was sentenced to NOT QUITE ENOUGH YEARS in prison by the federal courts in Washington DC and the Eastern District of Virginia, in order to make sure he stays in prison for a long time even if President Crime Boss pardons him. (Because guess what the wannabe tinpot dictator-in-chief has zero power to do? That's right, he cannot pardon state crimes!)

What we didn't realize is that the first state indictment would literally come down while the gavel in DC Judge Amy Berman Jackson's federal courtroom in DC was still smoking. LOL! Paul Manafort has just been indicted by the state of New York on 16 counts involving mortgage fraud Manafort (allegedly) committed starting in December of 2015, involving MILLIONS in fraudulent loans. Specifically there are three counts of mortgage fraud, and an additional count of attempted mortgage fraud, which is the thing where you try to move on some mortgage fraud like a bitch but you can't get there.

He was indicted also on three counts of conspiracy, because he involved other people (including his daughter and former son-in-law) in his plans to commit mortgage fraud. Remember that time Manafort conned a bank into giving him a lower mortgage rate by getting the kids to say they lived in a place on Howard Street in SoHo, but actually he was using it as an income-producing AirBnB?

In an email on January 6, 2016, MANAFORT noted: "[i]n order to have the maximum benefit, I am claiming Howard St. as a second home. Not an investment property." Later, on January 26, 2016, MANAFORT wrote to his son-in-law to advise him that when the bank appraiser came to assess the condominium, his son-in-law should "[r]emember, he believes that you and [MANAFORT's daughter] are living there."

New York state remembers! In the indictment, Manafort's former son-in-law is listed as "Individual 2," and his daughter is "Individual 3." (This incident was mentioned in Robert Mueller's indictments, both the mortgage fraud part and the the part about how Manafort laundered money in from Cyprus to buy all kindsa real estate without reporting that as income. WOMP WOMP.)

On top of that there are two more conspiracy indictments (including one involving the purchase of baseball season tickets in furtherance of the mortgage fraud LOL), eight counts of falsifying business records, and one count of scheming to defraud. All of them are LOCK HER UPPABLE offenses.

Now here's whataboutta happen!

Paul Manafort's lawyers will argue DOUBLE JEOPARDY! because of how Robert Mueller indicted for stuff related to this, specifically in the case in the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), therefore UNFAIRNESSES! Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance says NOPE, that is actually notaboutta happen, because do you think he would have gotten these grand jury indictments without making extra certain there was no double jeopardy? PFFFT.

"No one is beyond the law in New York," he said, adding that the investigation by the prosecutors in his office had "yielded serious criminal charges for which the defendant has not been held accountable."

Current state law in New York has what state Attorney General Letitia James refers to as a "double jeopardy loophole" that, at this point in time, might give some weight to double jeopardy arguments from the Manafort side. But perhaps just coincidentally (not coincidentally), James is backing an upcoming deal in the New York lege to close that very loophole, so as not to prevent New York from prosecuting Trump assholes in case they're pardoned by Trump.

There's also a case at the Supreme Court about this very thing right now, which has caused some to worry that Trump's SCOTUS might swoop in and prevent scenarios just like this, right when they're most needed. Except for when that case went before the court for oral arguments, it sounded like the so-called "dual sovereignty" exception to the Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause would probably win the day. So if Manafort gets LOCK HER UPPED forever by New York   after he's served his sentence with the feds -- or if Trump pardons him -- you can thank federalism!

Oh yeah, and in case you didn't just re-read the entire Manafort federal indictment from the EDVA like we did, we should note that many of the 16 counts in this state indictment were not charged by Mueller, and so as they say in Wonkette Law School "UHHHH YOU CAN'T HAVE DOUBLE JEOPARDY IF THERE ISN'T ANY, YOU FUCKING IDIOT."

As for people on Twitter saying Vance is doing this because POLITICALS, meh . New York has been working on this case since 2017, they waited their turn so as not to interfere with the ongoing federal investigations, and now it is their turn. The fact that they did it with the enthusiasm of a person who has to pee REAL BAD but has been waiting for some idiot in the bathroom who's taking forever, and then the person finally comes out and they barge their way in and drop trou and start peeing on Paul Manafort really hard while audibly voicing their relief just adds to the theatrics. Also, it surely did make sure that   particular hour of Paul Manafort's life was totally shitty, so Wonkette rates it as legally sound.

One more thing: We are 100 percent certain this is not the last time we will write about new indictments for Paul Manafort.

One more thing, part deux : Marcy Wheeler notes that FCI Cumberland, the federal prison where Manafort is going, is way nicer than wherever New York will end up putting Manafort. So maybe Manafort might not want to be pardoned that bad anymore, on balance?

Oh well, he's fucked, everybody say hooray!

[ Indictment / New York Times ]

 Follow Evan Hurst on Twitter RIGHT HERE, DO IT RIGHT HERE!  

 Wonkette is ad-free and funded ONLY by YOU, our dear readers. Click below to keep the lights on, please. We appreciate you, most of the time.