meanwhile - Marshall, TPM "Bigger Than People Seem to Realize" (re Manafort)

[mr_lebowski]

2. Not only was he doing it (or allegedly, per Mueller at least) ...

BUT IT'S SOMETHING HE CHOSE TO LIE ABOUT to Mueller, jeopardizing his plea agreement.

Which is a point of fact I've not seen mentioned. But that's EVEN MORE IMPORTANT.

He KNEW he HAD to lie about that shit. Too bad for him, Mueller already knew the facts ...

Manafort is BUSTED, dead to rights.

Question is, given that he conveniently 'entered late' in campaign, was broke and desperate at the time, plus Trump fired him ... can these actions legitimately be laid at the rest of the Campaign's feet? CLEARLY Manafort won't cop to THAT, unless he HAS to ... otherwise, no pardon, and Putin on his ass.

I'd have little doubt that, at minimum, Manafort talked to Trump and 'got the okay for all this', and if Trump wasn't 'Teflon Don' that'd be enough to bring him down ... but for SOME REASON the standards for this asshole are different, and GOP Senators are going to require proof that this was TRUMP'S plan. Which, handily for Trump, it likely was not.