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Wednesday, March 13, 2019

The Point: Paul Manafort's very bad day


March 13, 2019  | by Lauren Dezenski

Paul Manafort's very bad day

First, Donald Trump's former campaign chair was sentenced to a total of 7.5 years in federal prison for a decade's worth of financial and lobbying crimes, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

If you'll recall, these charges stem from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 election, though they do not involve collusion or conspiracy related to the election.

Manafort's judge, Amy Berman Jackson, addressed the court today, saying Manafort "is not public enemy No. 1. He's not a victim, either."

While Manafort's legal team -- and people such as President Donald Trump -- say the case proves there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, Berman Jackson says that is "simply a non sequitur."

And despite Manafort's apologies to the courtroom in Washington, his lawyers' arguments about the absence of any charges directly linked to collusion were "just one more thing that's inconsistent with the notion of any genuine acceptance of responsibility," Berman Jackson said.

Less than an HOUR later, Manafort got a one-two punch, of sorts, when the Manhattan district attorney announced state fraud charges against him.

The district attorney in New York charged Manafort with mortgage fraud, falsifying business records and conspiracy. Manafort has not yet entered a plea in that case. 

And on top of it, President Donald Trump is being publicly pressured against any sort of immediate pardon for Manafort.

"The point is, pardoning Manafort would be a, would be seen as a political disaster for the President," Sen. Lindsey Graham said today. "There may come a day down the road, after the politics have changed, that you'd want to consider an application of him like everybody else, but now would be a disaster."

The Point: Admit it: You probably had a better Wednesday than Paul Manafort.

-- Lauren


QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Sleep well tonight, you have friends in high places."

-- Attorney Robert Costello, reassuring Michael Cohen via email in April 2018, because Costello said he was in touch with President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

TRUMP TO BOEING: YOU'RE GROUNDED!

Boeing's 737 Max aircraft are out of US skies after at least 50 nations around the world, including Canada, banned the planes from their airspace.

The bans come on the heels of Sunday's Ethiopian Airlines plane crash, which killed all 157 passengers aboard a Boeing Max 8 plane -- and a similar crash with the same model in Indonesia.

Boeing has spent millions lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill and has close ties with the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump said today that until Boeing figures out its issues with the Max, "the planes are grounded."

LAUREN'S GOOD READS

What to expect if Robert Mueller gets hauled to the Hill

A deep dive into California pols' yearbooks found some nerds

I'm still so fascinated by this academic cheating scandal

What's it like to work on a Vermont dairy farm for a week? Glad you asked.

Go inside the Long Island linchpin of George Washington's spy ring 

Will Britain ever actually Brexit?? 

Bomb cyclone danger!!

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Let's float into the second half of the week with Dr. Dog's "The Breeze."

INSTA POINT

Today's topic: Starting today, let's outlaw the 'Biden his time' joke.

GET OUT THE VOTE COUNT

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is now the fifth Republican planning to vote Thursday with Democrats for the disapproval resolution on President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration -- and that number of Republicans could grow.

Lee's defection from the GOP's side comes after the administration's private -- and Trump's public -- pressure to stick with the President, plus the breakdown of a compromise that would have limited Trump's future emergency declaration powers.

As Trump tweeted this afternoon: "Republican Senators are overthinking tomorrow's vote on National Emergency. It is very simply Border Security/No Crime - Should not be thought of any other way. We have a MAJOR NATIONAL EMERGENCY at our Border and the People of our Country know it very well!"

LAUREN'S 2020 LATEST

Beto O'Rourke: Told Vanity Fair that "I want to be in it," and "Man, I'm just born to be in it, and want to do everything I humanly can for this country at this moment." He's rumored to be entering the presidential race this week -- and will begin a trip to Iowa on Thursday.

John Hickenlooper: Doesn't mean to forget who you are -- he has face blindness.

Wayne Messam: Is a little-known Florida mayor and launching an exploratory bid for president.

WHAT A MANDATE

The mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, had quite the election night on Tuesday. 

Mayor Jasiel Correia was both recalled from office and re-elected to that office in a single night.

Correia, who was federally indicted on corruption charges related to a startup business he founded, was recalled by 60% of voters in the South Coast city. But on the same ballot, Correia won the five-way contest to name his replacement with roughly 1/3 of the vote. 

Correia faces re-election this fall. 

YOUR DAILY GIF

From Brenna: "Raise your hand if you've ever felt personally victimized by the bastardization of your name on a Starbucks cup. Herald Schultz -- sorry, I mean HOWARD Schultz was in Florida today. Share The Point with your coffee break buddy!"
We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media and more. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski. Follow Chris and Lauren on Twitter.
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