This is what Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said
So I generally choose not to hang on every twist of the Mueller investigation, but if Trump pardons Manafort (after maybe having promised a pardon to get him not to cooperate) and gets away with it, then we’re in a banana republic. We just are.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 17, 2018
Now here’s how that could happen. The jurors in the Manafort trial are not sequestered. Judge T.S. Ellis has instructed them not to listen to news reports or talk to others about the case. However, it’s certainly conceivable that one of them might have heard Trump going on with his narrative of Paul Manafort as victim on Friday, totally breaking all sane conventions about a sitting president commenting on a prominent trial, let alone one involving a former colleague. “I think the whole Manafort trial is very sad, when you look at what’s going on there. I think it’s a very sad day for our country. He worked for me for a very short period of time. But you know what? He happens to be a very good person. And I think it’s very sad what they’ve done to Paul Manafort.” This is in the wake of Trump’s comments about how Manafort was being “treated worse than Al Capone” on the first day of testimony. John Cassidy, New Yorker:*
With the jury having been dismissed for the weekend after two days of deliberations, it seems likely that at least some of the jurors will learn of Trump’s remarks, even though the judge has ordered them not to read reports about the trial. Could Trump’s intervention help persuade at least one of the jurors to hold out for a Manafort acquittal? Surely, this thought must have crossed Trump’s mind. Although the evidence is stacked against Manafort, and his lawyers didn’t even present a defense case, there is always a possibility that a juror or two will take his side and force a mistrial. And if that happened, Trump could well issue a pardon before the prosecution could retry Manafort—a prospect that has some Democrats alarmed.
Could it be that Manafort offered no defense because he knows he’s already got the case sewn up? This isn’t CT, just prudent speculation about what might come to pass and why.
You MUST brace for the possibility that a juror has been paid off, threatened or corrupt. It only takes 1 to make a mistrial. Why do you think Manafort is calm and called no witnesses? He knows something.
— Rocketman (@ArrestTraitors) August 17, 2018
He's got state charges that can't be pardoned too, but yes, Chris is right. I think we are already in a constitutional crisis.
— Heather (@realHeatherD) August 17, 2018
Manafort trial will end in hung jury due to this ad:
HELP WANTED
Floating employee needed for Trump Campaign
Qualification: Must have voted not guilty on Manafort jury
Duties: Breathe eat sleep
Salary: $15,000/mo
Location: Your choice
(Odds are there's 1 Trump supporter on jury) pic.twitter.com/zb2ZT9kpbn— Greenspaceguy (@greenspaceguy) August 18, 2018
I’m actually more concerned that the judge in this case displayed extreme bias against the prosecution in front of the jury, that the jury is not sequestered and that the proceedings were corrupted through improper influence.
— geokaren (@geokaren) August 18, 2018
I think we are ? Republic already.
Threatening to jail political opponents; punishing political opponents for speaking out.
? systems known to be hackable but GOP Congress/WH do "nothing" – cabinet ppl say will "try" to have fair elections
That's enough to be ? Republic
— What could go wrong❓ (@wildwestpie) August 17, 2018
The election & presidency of @realDonaldTrump w/ help from @GOP already pretty much solidified that we're in a banana republic. US is now a politically unstable country, economically dominated by foreign interest. Trump & Co have implemented a plutocracy, & ruling-class oligarchy
— Ashley Mobley (@AshleyMobley19) August 17, 2018
Absolutely agree pic.twitter.com/T2CuVifvBM
— Cllr Shepzy (@tshep42) August 17, 2018
Democracy has worked in this country because for the most part American presidents have been willing to act reasonably. Trump has no clue what reasonable behavior is, his history proves that. He’s drunk with power, as John Brennan has said, and he’s especially intrigued with mechanisms like security clearance revocation and pardons, which are areas where presidential power is virtually unlimited. Because of Trump’s temperament and the extreme corruption of this cycle of the GOP, and the fact that they control both chambers of congress and the White House, the system of checks and balances is severely compromised. We’re in a national nightmare and we very well may find ourselves in a constitutional crisis sooner than we think.
* I can’t provide a hot link to the New Yorker article. It was part of a newsletter sent via gmail.
