Paul Manafort 'Is Going to Face the Rest of His Life in Jail': Former Prosecutor Explains Why Mueller's Case Is a Slam Dunk
On a historic day in American politics, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort was taken to jail Friday afternoon ahead of his trial in the case brought against him by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Former Federal Prosecutor Nelson Cunningham argued on MSNBC host Ari Melber's show "The Beat" that this action is a momentous step in the case against Manafort and in the Russia investigation.
"Paul Manafort, 69 years old, today is the first day of the rest of his life," he said. "And he's looking at the rest of his life behind bars."
He continued: "The underlying counts on which he's already charged are lay-up counts. Any prosecutor could prove that case in a week. ... He knows that he is going to face the rest of his life in jail. You add on top of that tampering with witnesses and any judge is going to throw the book at him."
However, Cunningham noted, there is a twist to this slam-dunk case theory.
"He has two things that might get him out of jail. One of those is cooperating with Mueller and finding a way to help him complete his investigation," he said. "And the second is the hail-Mary pass of a pardon from the president."
Watch the clip below:
Paul Manafort "knows that he is going to face the rest of his life in jail" and "any prosecutor could prove that ca… https://t.co/fPrU07U4Yf— The Beat with Ari Melber on MSNBC 📺 (@The Beat with Ari Melber on MSNBC 📺)1529100673.0
