Paul Manafort has been found guilty of 5 counts of tax fraud. He made millions in deals around the world and then moved the money around in conspicuous ways, attempting to hide it as loans, thereby avoiding millions in taxes that should have been paid on the money. He was also found guilty of 2 counts of bank fraud.
These are serious felonies, especially considering the amounts involved and the intent behind the scheme. People are allowed to make honest mistakes, and people who make next to no money at all can often get away with smaller penalties if they are not getting rich off their actions. But, if one can increase their income by millions upon millions by hiding income, then jail time – serious jail time – comes into account, and Manafort now faces such a future.
Additionally, it will be extremely difficult for Trump to pardon Manafort on these charges because this has nothing to do with anything in politics – it is nothing but a rich guy attempting to be a richer guy by not declaring millions in income and defrauding banks – if Trump pardons Manafort, he is basically making a statement that lawlessness rules under the presidency of Donald Trump – so long as you’re a friend of the dictator.
We will have more analysis as more information comes in. We know that the jury is currently deadlocked on the other counts.
