re: #58 makeitstop

Manafort’s defense, from the WaPo live blog: blame Rick Gates.

Party of Personal Responsibility, y’all.

That live blog is fascinating.

From the defense:

Zehnle said Manafort built “one of the most successful political consulting and government relations shops in Washington,” while also working on “the global stage.”

That work was not partisan, Zehnle said, pointing out that former Bernie Sanders strategist Tad Devine will also testify about working in Ukraine.

Manafort’s work for Yanukovych was to “bring the country closer to Western democracies after decades of Soviet rule” — toward the European Union and away from Russia. That comment was met with audible sneers from a few of those seated in the courtroom.