Manafort Likely to 'Die in Prison' Unless He Cooperates, GOP Strategist Says
*By Amanda Weston*
As a jury deliberates the guilt of President Trump's former campaign chair for the third day, GOP strategist Rick Wilson said Paul Manafort's chances don't look good.
"I think the judge in this case has been somewhat of a wildcard, but in the large picture here I think Manafort is facing something that federal prosecutors are pretty good at putting people behind bars for," Wilson, author of "Everything Trump Touches Dies," said Monday in an interview on Cheddar.
Manafort [faces more than a dozen charges](https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/20/politics/paul-manafort-trial/index.html), including tax evasion and the concealment of foreign bank accounts. He has pleaded not guilty.
Wilson said the real star of the proceedings is a "gigantic paper trail" that Manafort left behind. And it marks the first trial from Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia investigation.
"Manafort has always had a choice," said Wilson. "He can either flip and cooperate with Robert Mueller and cooperate with this investigation and do the right thing for his country, or he can die in prison. Right now, he's going to die in prison."
President Trump has repeatedly slammed the Mueller probe on Twitter, calling it [a "Rigged Witch Hunt!"](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1031154974942810114) on Sunday morning.
While Manafort's trial, the first in Mueller's investigation, may not be a defining moment for the overall probe, it's life-altering for the defendant.
"I view this, as I think most people do, as a point of leverage for Paul Manafort to get a wake-up call and to understand that unless he cooperates, he's going to die in jail," said Wilson. "Because he's not a young man, and he's going to go to prison at some point, and they've got a whole separate case, by the way, they can bring after this one. So the pressure on Paul Manafort isn't over. This isn't a make or break for the Mueller investigation at all."
For full interview [click here] ( https://cheddar.com/videos/manafort-jury-enters-third-day-of-deliberations).
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. will begin to impose sanctions on Russia, calling recent troop movement into Ukraine an 'invasion.' Biden and other government officials including from the State Department have begun to classify the Russian troop movement as an invasion after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to two independent Ukrainian areas in an alleged "peacekeeping" mission — which the West considers an act of aggression. Biden said Russia will continue to pay 'an even steeper price' if it continues sending troops into Ukraine. What happens next? Will Putin find a way around these sanctions? Ariel Cohen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, joins Closing Bell to discuss Biden's remarks, how the West will protect Ukraine since it doesn't belong to NATO, and more.
Russian lawmakers have given President Vladimir Putin a military force authorization in Ukraine, and President Biden has described Putin's announcement declaring the independence of two provinces within Ukraine and his subsequent deployment of peacekeepers as tantamount to "invasion. David Tafuri, a former Obama campaign foreign policy advisor and Bush State Department official, joined Cheddar News to discuss. "The Ukrainian military occupies more than 70 percent of those provinces still," Tafuri said, noting Putin alleged having a responsibility to defend those regions. "This would put Ukrainian forces and Russian forces right at each other engaged. And that might be how the war starts."
The major indexes ended Tuesday's session sharply lower due to escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Bill Stone, Chief Investment Officer at The Glenview Trust Company, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he reminds viewers that Wall Street doesn't like uncertainty, and more of the recent losses are due to geopolitics than inflation.
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The Retail Industry Leaders Association released a report alleging the safety risks, economic losses, and potential job losses they link to a surge in shoplifting crimes in the United States. Lisa LaBruno, senior EVP of retail operations at the trade organization, joined Cheddar News to discuss the impact of websites that allow for the resale of unverified goods and passing the INFORM Consumers Act to stamp it out. “We need to hold the online marketplaces accountable for being a favored venue for criminals to resell stolen product," LaBruno said. "And that is exactly what the INFORM Act is designed to do."
The East-West faceoff over Ukraine has escalated dramatically, with Russian lawmakers authorizing President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside his country and President Biden and European leaders responding by slapping sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks.
Stocks closed broadly lower Tuesday after Russia sent forces into Ukraine’s eastern region and the U.S., European Union and U.K. responded with economic sanctions.
