Paul Manafort's scumbag defense lawyer, Kevin Downing, should be punished for his violations of ethical rules in trying to nobble the jury, the public and Trump to get a pardon for his scumbag client.
The legal profession, which I used to have a lot of sympathy for, is disgusting when they go from defending their clients into getting off the guilty, especially when they are guilty of what Paul Manafort is known to have done to empower murdering despots. If Manafort is convicted, even by the machinations of lawerly lying he's guilty and, considering the gravity of what he did for enormous amounts of pay, deserves to rot in prison.
I don't think we demand that lawyers behave as if they're dedicated to producing justice nearly enough, in prosecutors, when the accused are innocent as charged, by defenders when the accused are guilty as charged. The line that it's not their job to do anything other than get their clients off is inadequate. There isn't any reason to respect what they do or the whole business of the law on that basis.
Downing is as big an asshole as I accused the judge in the Manafort trial as being, with what he did in the last few days, more so.
Downing clearly realizes Manafort has no defense. His comments about the jury coming back on Monday was pure spin. The longer the jury thinks about this, the more likely there is a conviction.
ReplyDeleteA pardon doesn't really help Trump, as Manafort could still be compelled to testify to Mueller, without any 5th Amendment shield. Besides, Manafort faces more charges which I think are state charges (Trump can't pardon state crimes).
Downing's client is screwed. Downing is trying to secure his reputation, not save Manafort.
Trial by jury, so flawed but I think still the best bet in many cases.
DeleteI have been purposely trying to avoid anything that predicts what the jury will do because who know. I remember meeting with someone on library business during the period when Ito held the jury ruling overnight, marveling over how he'd found one last way to drive the world nuts over that fiasco. Oddly enough, the sun came up even after the verdict was given and it seemed the lying, racist detective might have gotten a guilty man off by trying to rig the evidence. Or at least getting caught lying about his racism, before he went on to be a right wing media figure.