Can we talk about $900,000 plus Manafort spent on antique rugs?
Is your real life name Sailor Ripley?
Is that in the Federal Rules of Evidence?
I would have thought that if you call him, he’s your witness so your examination is covered by the rules for exam-in-chief (unless you can get the witness declared a hostile witness).
Horrible fashion sense. I’d prefer the full monty to the python.
Rule 611.
. . .
(c) Leading Questions. Leading questions should not be used on direct examination except as necessary to develop the witness’s testimony. Ordinarily, the court should allow leading questions:
(1) on cross-examination; and
(2) when a party calls a hostile witness, an adverse party, or a witness identified with an adverse party.
If Manafort’s team called Gates he’d be both hostile and identified with the prosecution, so leading questions would be fine. Although now the government says they’re planning on calling him anyway, so it’s probably a moot point.
Thanks. Different from what I’m used to.
Speaking of…
Trump Thinks He Can Convince Mueller’s Team Their Own Investigation Is a Witch Hunt:
If he wants to stick his head in the lion’s mouth, I say we should encourage him. Tell him Obama would never be brave enough to sit down with the investigators for a no-preconditions interview on live TV. Tell him only low-energy losers would say this is a bad idea. It’s his idea, isn’t it? So it must be great. Everyone else thinks so.
See, here’s what I don’t get. If he can make the “witch hunt” disappear with his manly powers of persuasion over Mueller, why does he tweet for Jeff Sessions to make it go away? Like, if the “witch hunt” doesn’t have merit and he has the power to fire Mueller, why doesn’t he just, you know, fire him?
It’s all so baffling. I must not know how to think right.
If you were a Stable Genius playing multi-dimensional chess like Trump💩, this would be easy for mere mortals.
I guess I’m more of a Coop Genius. :dubious:
I think it’s a fake-out. Trump does NOT want to sit down with Mueller, but he knows that if he says that, he’ll look like a scared guilty little weakling.
So he says ‘sure, with certain conditions, I’ll meet’ and then everyone starts speculating how he’s so confident and all. Meanwhile, his lawyers forbid the meeting, and Trump can say ‘hey, I wanted to—but I have to listen to my lawyers.’
I wonder if this is just a tactic. If he goes through with his meeting - I doubt it ever happens, but let’s entertain the thought - then he can say, “See, I met with him. I told him everything. I did what they wanted, and they still won’t leave me alone. I’m trying to be president here.” Or maybe he wants to get Mueller alone, one and one, and try to intimidate him, like he did Comey. Who knows?
Trump’s instincts are to fire him, but I’m guessing multiple people have issued stern warnings, threatening not to support him. It’s not that Republicans care about the rule of law but they don’t want to jeopardize the Senate. Assuming we have drama free elections, if the Repubs lose the Senate, Trump is in serious jeopardy. They will revolt against Trumpism.
If Mueller wanted to meet with Trump without any preconditions, he should have become the head of Iran or North Korea.
Is Iraq still on the Axis of Evil? Might be his last chance.
Even his most fanatical followers will see through that one.
Not that they’ll admit it.
Or like Vlad did him?
First time for everything, I suppose.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/03/paul-manafort-trial-2018-761300
Looks like Manaforts former associates showed up in court wearing some flippers – 'cause they’re flipping on him bigly.
He has listened to his lawyers in the past–every time he settled one of the lawsuits against him, for example. His own instinct was to Fight Fight Fight, but someone convinced him he couldn’t win (or that some other circumstance made a settlement the best possible option).
He also has experience with his own performance at a deposition coming back to bite him:
He has reason to genuinely fear what could come of a sit-down with Mueller–not just humiliating facts that would come to light, but, of course, charges that would only start with perjury.
A capacity for doublethink is crucial to the daily functioning of the average Trumpite*.
*I’ve been using this term lately, for its obvious parallels to the Sam Raimi/Evil Dead concept.
Another said that Manafort told her to falsify records.
I hear flippers allow you to swim (away) faster.