Thread by @tburages

Lately I've been thinking about junkyard dogs.

And lawyers.

And what it must be like to know your client called you a junkyard dog lawyer – and that you lived up to that moniker. /1

To know that in a massive case impacting the national security of the United States, your team engaged in highly unethical, possibly illegal behavior.

To know the big win you scored for your client came at an ugly cost for all of us. /2

I've been thinking of this guy.

Meet Mr. Richard Westling. /3

Mr. Westling is the attorney who was home prepping his client's defense while his partner, Kevin Downing, was "feeding" Sean Hannity on Manafort's case.

While he was on a gag order.

I wonder how Mr. Westling feels about that. /4

Before I go further, we need to be clear that this wasn't just a couple of whiny old dudes commiserating.

Manafort has literally toppled a government by his trained deployment of propaganda warfare. Innocent people were imprisoned, killed.

And Hannity ... well ... /5

Let's just say that there are few people in this WORLD who are more expert in the art of brainwashing an entire population than these two. /6

They had their machines, decades of propaganda experience, and they were ready for war.

Hannity: Time to say F u and go to war
Manafort: Yes
Hannity: That's what will now happen. /7

So they "fed" Hannity an arsenal that was packaged into weapons-grade disinformation and delivered with laser-like precision to a 78-year-old Reagan-appointed judge who likely views Fox as unvarnished gospel. /8

And they ALL knew that the daily torrent of propaganda was hitting their target. /8.5

How do we know it was effective? Because the judge told them so.

Let's look at the timeline of events, shall we?

April 10, 2018 - Manafort writes Hannity:

"We think we can score points in VA on these abuse issues."

(VA = EDVA court) /9

Two days later

April 12, 2018 - Trump tweets, "Big show tonight on @seanhannity!"

READY ... AIM ... 🧨 /10

@seanhannity ... FIRE! 💣

The "Big show" that Trump plugged was a segment called "The Mueller Crime Family.“Here's how the WaPo described this show the next day.

Remember the line about Rosenstein. We'll come back to that. /11

@seanhannity After the show, Hannity and Manafort joked about it.

Did I mention that MANAFORT WAS UNDER A GAG ORDER? /12

@seanhannity During his work in Ukraine, Manafort understood a single journalist was never enough to propagandize an entire population.

The misinformation has to come from several directions all at once. A barrage. /13

@seanhannity May 1, 2018.

Manafort says, "WE sent some materials to Jarrett." We. He and his Junkyard Dog lawyers, that is. /14

@seanhannity And Jarrett, of course, is Fox News's own Gregg Jarrett, who somehow managed to finish publication of "The Russian Hoax" right smack in the middle of Manafort's EDVA trial.

Keep that in mind as you read the last sentence of his tweet. /15

@seanhannity Right after Manafort mentioned the "materials" he sent to Jarrett, Hannity pointed him to this New York Times article printed that day.

Manafort expressed satisfaction that it would strengthen their case. /16

@seanhannity Manafort had a hearing on May 4, 2018. That MORNING Kimberley Strassel @KimStrassel published this Rosenstein hit piece in the WSJ.

Manafort pointed it out to Hannity. /17

@seanhannity @KimStrassel Ready for this? No, you're not. I wasn't.

How did Manafort and Hannity and Kevin Downing, and – YES - Mr. Westling know they were hitting the bullseye?

Because the judge parroted the propaganda so flawlessly. He attacked Rosenstein.

"Bada bing bada boom." /18

@seanhannity @KimStrassel Manafort bragged to Hannity that "from the first moment" of the hearing, Judge Ellis went after one of Mueller's prosecutors.

"Biggest beat down ever," says Hannity.

"IT PLAYS RIGHT TO YOUR NARRATIVE," says Manafort.

YA THINK? /19

@seanhannity @KimStrassel Then ...

Hannity: My monologue tomorrow is gonna be on this judge.

And so it was. Judge Ellis got a nice big tribute from Hannity the very next day. /20

@seanhannity @KimStrassel A month later, Fox publishes another Rosenstein hit piece.

Catherine Herridge. I wonder if Manafort knows her too?

No I don’t.

(BTW Has anyone asked Fox’s Catherine Herridge WHAT she knows about Kilimnik?) /21

@seanhannity @KimStrassel Hannity, Manafort and the Junkyard Lawyers were quite proud they'd gotten to Judge Ellis.

Can you IMAGINE having that sort of advantage in a criminal trial? /22

washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-e…

@seanhannity @KimStrassel And then there was the jury.

One juror. 10 charges blowing away on a hot summer day. /23

@seanhannity @KimStrassel And the sentencing.

"Judge Ellis dismissed as 'way out of whack' sentencing guidelines that recommended a prison term of 19 to 24 years."

Between the mistrial on 10 charges and the sentencing how many decades were shaved off Manafort's sentence? /24

nytimes.com/2019/03/08/us/…

@seanhannity @KimStrassel For the next set of charges Manafort faced a different judge.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson is no Judge Ellis and Manafort and his lawyers knew it. Conservative media wasn't going to work on her, and the DC venue meant fewer Fox News jurors.

Time for Plan B. /25

@seanhannity @KimStrassel The plea agreement they never intended to keep.

And Mr. Westling might not have been the one who personally met with John Dowd and passed information to him.

But he surely knew about it. He allowed it. /26

@seanhannity @KimStrassel His client LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING after entering into that cooperation agreement.

From HIS end, there was no need to lie. He'd already pleaded guilty. /27

@seanhannity @KimStrassel But hell, why settle for a year off your sentence when you can get the WHOLE DAMNED THING annulled with a PRESIDENTIAL PARDON? /28

nytimes.com/2018/11/27/us/…

@seanhannity @KimStrassel If your client has the goods on a U.S. President and his corrupt son-in-law, why the hell NOT use all the resources available to you, right?

Whatever is best for YOUR CLIENT, even if you're letting him commit more crimes to get less jail time. Isn't this what all lawyers do? /29

@seanhannity @KimStrassel He knew the court's rules. He knew the oath he took.

But when you're a Junkyard Dog Lawyer they LET you do it, amirite? /30

@seanhannity @KimStrassel He also knew the rules of this corrupt joint defense agreement.
 
To earn a pardon, you must lie. You must cover for Donald Trump and Jared Kushner and Roger Stone and Jerome Corsi and everyone else who is part of it. /31

But that's not all.You must tamper with the future jury pool for everyone in the joint defense agreement. You must propagandize the public. You must repeat the mantra.

"No collusion." /32

Honestly, I think this part embarrassed Mr. Westling a little.

Because in order to meet the mantra quota it had to show up in court transcripts. /33

And on the courthouse steps. Even if it meant telling bald-faced lies about what a judge HAD JUST SAID while standing right outside the courthouse where she presides! /34

vox.com/policy-and-pol…

Sometimes that appeared to be a bit too much for Mr. Westling.

See the expression on his face while his partner was repeating the "No Collusion" mantra in front of cameras? /35

And maybe he feels like the fact he's not doing the talking makes it ok.

"Kevin does the dirty work. I do everything else." /36

But MY WORD.

What does this MEAN for the Rule of Law?

How is the average non-brainwashed American citizen supposed to feel that justice was NOT obstructed?

Because it really looks like they just all got away with it. /37

When everyone in a JDA is promised a get-out-of-jail free card if they agree lie to federal agents – and you, a member of the bar – is an active participant in the scheme, you MUST have SOME feeling of the sheer amount of damage you've just inflicted on our system. /38

Mr. Westling,

You allowed your client – expert in the art of military-grade propaganda – to deploy that weapon on the JUDGE and the JURY in his case.

And your partner WORKED WITH HIM to do it. /39

And you allowed your partner to communicate with members of the JDA after YOUR CLIENT SIGNED A PLEA AGREEMENT.

AND you allowed your client to LIE to federal investigators. /40

You stood beside your partner as HE LIED about a JUDGE outside her courthouse.

Because you knew THAT WAS WHAT WAS REQUIRED for his PARDON. /41

How do you go back to business as usual with your law firm after this? What do prospective clients think of you?

Junkyard Dog.

"Dude, you should totally hire that Junkyard Dog lawyer. He'll do ANYTHING to get you off." /42x