Paul Manafort was recently sentenced to less than 4 years in prison (47) months for his tax and bank fraud charges. He was the former campaign chairman for President Donald Trump. Some of his charges include recognizing individual false US tax records, failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, among other unrelated bank frauds. This sentence is far less than the previously suggested roughly two decades of prison time. Manafort will receive a second jail sentence from a different federal judge, so there is still a possibility that Manafort could do more time.
Do you think the punishment fit the crime?
Why do you think his sentence was lighter than the expected punishment?
Do you think Manafort should serve more time?
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/paul-manafort-trump-s-onetime-campaign-chairman-be-sentenced-fraud-n980496
I personally think that his sentence was not lighter than the expected punishment because while tax and bank fraud are actual crimes, four years seem excessive. I don't think that Manafort should serve more time in prison because punishment for an attempt to evade paying taxes calls for imprisonment for no more than 5 years.
ReplyDeleteTax and bank fraud are both legitimate crimes, however they are not the most serious of crimes. I think the punishment fit the crime and most people were expecting his punishment to be harsher because of his connections to Trump. I cannot say why the punishment is lighter than expected, but I think the expected punishment is usually predicted to be more severe than usual. I don't think Manafort should serve more time because he will already spend a significant amount of time in jail and his career will be trashed.
ReplyDeleteI think that his sentence is perfectly fine. It is not so long that it will cripple his life (he didn't murder anyone or anything) and not so short that it looks like a slap on the wrist for someone of high class to get off easy. He is being convicted of serious crimes that I think no one should be able to get away with. I think the only problem in all of this and seeing Micheal Cohen also on trial is that these are people who have committed crimes directed by or involved with the president. It is essential that the president is held accountable to any actions that may also be found to be criminal because not even the president is above the law.
ReplyDeleteI think Manafort’s punishment of serving four years in prison is sufficient enough for crimes relating to tax and bank fraud. There are definitely more serious or violent crimes that deserve a harsher punishment, but for crimes involving fraud, I think that a couple years in prison is enough for people to learn their lesson and prevent them from performing the same actions again. Therefore, I don’t think that Manafort should serve more time as four years is the right amount of time to serve in his case, especially for a person connected to politics, since it will show Americans that politicians don’t always get away with their wrongdoings.
ReplyDeleteI agree that for the crime (tax and bank fraud), the sentence is sufficient. However, for the future, I believe there may be some incriminating information against his activities in Trump's election. Hopefully if there is any information that shows that there was any illegal involvement, that he will be sentenced for a longer time in prison.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if this is an appropriate amount of jail time. Sure, the jail time is still a long time, but at the same time, it does not really follow the federal guideline for these issues according to the article. It is also interesting to note that the article states he did not show remorse for his actions, which I think is important to get a lighter sentence. It seems like comparing it to other cases justifies the decision, but are they really similar enough? Also, if these cases are taking precedent, shouldn't the federal guidelines also be adjusted to these standards Manafort is being held to?
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