I don't care much for Paul Manafort. Like his Democratic Party doppelgänger Tony Podesta he is the kind of pond scum that makes what we call The Swamp The Swamp. Indeed, the two men have worked together in the past, having a natural affinity for exploiting the public interest for maximum profit.
I was going to call this column The Trial of Tony Podesta to point out the ridiculous disparity that one is on trial but not the other. Judge Ellis couldn't have been more right. This is selective prosecution to get at the president. The charges are outrageously broad and deliberately so.
Nevertheless, it doesn't speak well of Trump that he chose to work with a man like Manafort. The president has made some excellent choices (Pompeo) and some doozies (Omarosa). Let's hope he's learning from his mistakes. It's time.
But whatever you think of Manafort, his trial — no matter how it turns out — in its underpinnings resembles nothing so much as a Stalinist purge trial. It is political, self-serving and sadistic. Manafort is being purged — for life, if the prosecution gets its way. Maybe he could write The Mueller Archipelago.
Lest you think I am overstating, it's worth considering that countries have unique traditions. Totalitarianism sneaks in the door in disparate manners, sometimes overtly via coup, sometimes covertly, even to the extent the citizenry doesn't realize it's happening. Russia is very different from the USA. If extreme oppression arrives here, its styles and techniques will not necessarily be what we have seen before.
https://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/manaforts-purge-trial/
I was going to call this column The Trial of Tony Podesta to point out the ridiculous disparity that one is on trial but not the other. Judge Ellis couldn't have been more right. This is selective prosecution to get at the president. The charges are outrageously broad and deliberately so.
Nevertheless, it doesn't speak well of Trump that he chose to work with a man like Manafort. The president has made some excellent choices (Pompeo) and some doozies (Omarosa). Let's hope he's learning from his mistakes. It's time.
But whatever you think of Manafort, his trial — no matter how it turns out — in its underpinnings resembles nothing so much as a Stalinist purge trial. It is political, self-serving and sadistic. Manafort is being purged — for life, if the prosecution gets its way. Maybe he could write The Mueller Archipelago.
Lest you think I am overstating, it's worth considering that countries have unique traditions. Totalitarianism sneaks in the door in disparate manners, sometimes overtly via coup, sometimes covertly, even to the extent the citizenry doesn't realize it's happening. Russia is very different from the USA. If extreme oppression arrives here, its styles and techniques will not necessarily be what we have seen before.
https://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/manaforts-purge-trial/
