NY Judge Tosses Paul Manafort State Fraud Case, Citing Double Jeopardy, Setting Up Potential Federal Pardon
Posted by Fuzzy Slippers
Manafort attorney: “We have said since the day this indictment was made public that it was politically motivated and violated New York’s statutory double jeopardy law.”
Here at LI, we have covered extensively President Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort. Manafort, who is serving time in federal prison after being indicted by Robert Mueller, was also charged by New York state in an apparent effort to block a possible Trump pardon.
The effort has, so far, failed as a NY judge has tossed out the case, citing double jeopardy.
A New York judge has dismissed a state mortgage fraud indictment against Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, citing double jeopardy laws.
Manafort, 70, was previously sentenced in a pair of federal cases earlier this year as part of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Judge Maxwell Wiley ruled that state law precludes prosecution because the criminal case was too similar to that which landed Manafort in federal prison, writing that the factual overlap between the state and federal cases “is extensive — if not total.”
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. said they would appeal the decision.
Citing the apparently political nature of the NY case against Manafort, his attorneys thanked the judge.
full story at https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/12/ny-judge-tosses-paul-manafort-state-fraud-case-citing-double-jeopardy/