Paul Manafort is in jail. And, Paul Manafort is going to stay in jail for a long time. As a matter of fact, Manafort’s in solitary confinement like a serial killer or something. He was convicted of financial crimes. Manafort signed a cooperation deal with Mueller. Mueller is not going to ask anyone for leniency for him so why would Mr. Manafort give him anything. Mueller, in fact, filed documents saying that Paul Manafort has lied to him. Well, that’s what liars do, duh. Now, liberals are fuming because the lawyers for Trump and Manafort are talking.

Turns out that there are these things called “Joint Defense Agreements”. Well, I only took nine credit hours of business law in college so that’s way out of my lane. I Googled Joint Defense Agreements and you can read it here. Basically, it means the lawyers can talk and share information without breaching attorney client privilege.

CNN’s Jake Tapper and his panel were agog over the Joint Defense Agreements and a funny meme Trump retweeted:

Personally, I thought the meme was very funny. I wish Trump were my uncle. He would have made Thanksgiving even greater than it was.

So, Manafort’s lawyers have Joint Defense Agreements with Trump’s lawyers. Apparently, author Jerome Corsi and creepy political consultant Roger Stone also have these agreements with President Trump. There are 32 of these agreements out “there”. Look folks, if the power, might and legal authority of the United States Justice Department were out to ruin me, I would have these agreements with everyone I had ever met and the Tooth Fairy.

If the government gavel were likely to come down on you, how many co-defendants would you sign a Joint Defense Agreement with to save your skin? Photo credit: Pexels/Pixabay

The “failing” New York Times posted an Opinion piece by defense lawyer/former federal prosecutor Ken White. The title poses the question “Why Did Manafort Cooperate With Trump Over Mueller?“. Now, to make the easily led sheeple bleat in unison, the subhead reads, “Lawyers for Manafort and Trump engaged in a brazen violation of criminal defense norms. The move could pay off, or it could blow up spectacularly.” A “brazen violation” of “norms”. Doesn’t that sound scary? Not a brazen violation of the law. The lawyers “engaged” in a “brazen violation” of “criminal defense norms”. Ooooh!

What does Mr. Ken White have to say in his failing New York Times piece:

On Monday, Mr. Mueller filed an incendiary status report accusing Mr. Manafort of breaching their cooperation agreement, lying to the F.B.I. and committing further federal crimes after his September guilty plea to fraud and other charges. Mr. Mueller’s team, which held off Mr. Manafort’s sentencing while he supposedly cooperated — and, it should be noted, while Mr. Trump completed his written responses to questions from Mr. Mueller’s team of prosecutors — has now asked the federal judges hearing his cases in Washington and Virginia to sentence him promptly on what are certain to be very harsh terms. Mr. Mueller will be documenting his accusations lavishly and publicly in his sentencing position papers.

“Lavishly”, Mr. White? I think you are enjoying this.

And:

But the second development — that Mr. Manafort’s lawyers have been spilling the details of their client’s cooperation to Trump lawyers under the cover of an often-used but little-understood pact called a joint defense agreement — is shocking. The revelation is a potential catastrophe for everyone involved.

“Spilling”, Mr. White? Don’t you just love the way White uses language to prejudice us in the direction that he wishes?

Here’s just a tech (as in touch) more:

Under normal circumstances, if a lawyer reveals what a client said in confidence, or reveals strategy and analysis of a case, that information is no longer confidential, and the government can compel testimony about it. A joint defense agreement allows lawyers for people with a common interest in a case to share what they learned from clients without that information losing its confidential nature. Because everyone in the agreement has a common interest in defending the case and has agreed to keep the information secret, the theory goes, sharing the information within the group doesn’t waive its confidentiality.

Joint defense agreements are common in white-collar investigations because they allow lawyers to figure out two crucial things: what happened and what the prosecutor knows about it. Mr. Trump’s lawyers have made vigorous use of such pacts — we’ve learned he has them with Mr. Manafort and with the Roger Stone confidant Jerome Corsi.

That last bit where it says “they allow lawyers to figure out two crucial things: what happened and what the prosecutor knows about it” is the money phrase. Although it’s difficult to remember, this clown show started as an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 elections.

Paul Manafort’s six months with the Trump campaign and prior bad acts caught him up in this. Flynn, Papadopoulos, Stone, Corsi and all the other bit players have no clue what Mueller wants. What Mueller wants is to get President Trump on something. Mueller and his team of government hit men don’t care who they ruin. Like I said, I would have Joint Defense Agreements with everyone and the Tooth Fairy. Norms are norms, not the law.

Paul Manafort has no reason to help Muller out. Helping Donald Trump out, well that could lead to a get out of jail free card. Score!

Feature Photo: Pexels/Suzy Hazelwood