Manafort and Gates Pose Serious Risk of Flight, Says Mueller

[ffr]

Former Trump campaign aides Paul Manafort and Rick Gates posed a "serious risk of flight" because of their wealth and connections abroad, Special Counsel Robert Mueller argued in newly filed court papers.
<snip>
"The defendants pose a risk of flight based on the serious nature of the charges, their history of deceptive and misleading conduct, the potentially significant sentences the defendants face, the strong evidence of guilt, their significant financial resources, and their foreign connections," Mueller's office wrote in a bail memo unsealed Tuesday.

"Both have had substantial overseas ties, including assets held abroad, significant foreign work connections, and significant travel abroad. Those aspects of the defendants' history and characteristics evidence a risk of flight."
<snip>

In the memo, Mueller's office calculated the possible maximum sentences under federal sentencing guidelines if Manafort and Gates were convicted. Gates could serve up to 12 years and seven months and Manafort is facing up to 15 years and eight months in prison, the prosecutors said.

"The possibility of prison sentences in these ranges alone establishes a risk of flight as to both defendants," the filing says.

Both men have pleaded not guilty. Manafort's bail was set at $10 million, Gates's at $5 million. Both are confined to their homes by court order. - NBC News

[onecaliberal]

1. Why did they get to go home?

[PoliticAverse]

3. Well that's a judge's call not Mueller's. n/t

[onecaliberal]

4. Clearly. But they shouldnt have been allowed to go home.

[PoliticAverse]

2. If they pose a "serious risk of flight" why did he allow them to turn themselves in...

instead of finding and arresting them (they still had their passports then even)?

[smirkymonkey]

5. I thought their passports were confiscated.

Where are they going to go, legally. The only way they will get out of here is if they are assisted by another party or government that gets them out of here illegally. That's not going to look good.

[babylonsister]

8. I think if they flee, they don't care how it looks. nt

[smirkymonkey]

12. No, but it would not look good for the Trump administration if they did.

They would pretty much be admitting guilt and their fear of Trump's retaliation.

[Thrill]

10. With their money and connections

I’m sure they could get out of the country without passports

[smirkymonkey]

13. I'm sure they could, but that would open up another whole can of worms.

I think they are pretty much between a rock and a hard place.

[defacto7]

11. The other way they could get out...

is if they are killed by a foregn power or business interest. That would probably be more easily done at their home.

I think they should have been held in top security confinement for safety reasons. Witnesses have to be preserved I would think.

[smirkymonkey]

14. They should be lucky to be locked up here.

It's the only thing that would keep them safe. If they go anywhere else, they are easy targets. Nobody will protect them if they flee.

[Hornedfrog1985]

15. Yeah,

I have a feeling theyre under surveilance

[malaise]

6. LOCK THEM UP!

I can't wait

[L. Coyote]

7. Putin has a nicely furnished dacha waiting for them I bet, ....

complete with hacking equipment.

[Wellstone ruled]

9. Their Legal people most likley

put their personal reputation on the line. Thursday is their Bail Hearing.