So, given all this, where was Weissmann persuasive?
Simple - when he was talking about Paul Manafort's crimes (along with Rick Gates) , which he was in charge of prosecuting
Manafort was unbelievably dirty and Weissmann does an effective job of showing it
Weissmann also explains something interesting about Manafort
After losing his first trial, Manafort decided to "come clean" and cooperate
But he still lied about a $125,000 kickback he received
Why? BECAUSE HE WAS STEALING FROM THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN
Another interesting thing from reading the book is that I now think conservatives generally inflated Weissman's importance/control of the investigation
Weissmann was a key prosecutor - but he was in charge of "Team M", the Manafort prosecutions, not the whole thing
At the end of the day - Weissmann was a trial lawyer, but he was not some sort of appellate genius
Mueller didn't put him in charge of overall legal strategy
That job was given to Michael Dreeben, a super-experienced Supreme Court litigator and criminal law expert
Dreeben would have been the primary defender of the obstruction theory that was the subject of my article Checkmate
Earlier today we highlighted some individual prosecution decisions made by the now-suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell.
Now, let’s take a broader look at @GovRonDeSantis’ executive order to see how Worrell was derelict in her duty.
We’ll start with gun crime.
Florida has mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office referred 58 non-homicide Robbery with a Firearm cases to Worrell’s office in 2021 and 2022.
As of May 2023, only one mandatory minimum sentence had been imposed in any of those cases.
That Sheriff’s office also referred 11 non-homicide Carjacking with a Firearm cases and 14 non-homicide Home Invasion Robbery with a Firearm cases during that period.
Out of those arrests, only one resulted in a mandatory minimum sentence being imposed.
Today, @GovRonDeSantis suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell for dereliction of duty and incompetence.
Here are some examples of her policies or practices in action.
Daton Viel was arrested in March 2023 for sexual battery on a minor, as well as Lewd and Lascivious Molestation.
That arrest was made while Viel was on probation for another offense. Viel was still let out on bond.
This past weekend, Viel shot two Orlando Police Officers.
In November 2022, 17-year-old Lorenzo Larry shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend, De’Shayla Ferguson.
Larry had previously been arrested in May 2022 for carrying a concealed firearm, possession of a firearm on school property, and criminal possession of a firearm by a minor.
How do you take a movie about something as consequential as the Manhattan Project and make it about things as picayune and trivial as the denial of a security clearance and the failed confirmation of a minor cabinet secretary
Yes I watched the movie and understood the plot, I’m saying that portion of the story was simply uninteresting
In case it wasn't obvious: Trump might not be "the establishment," but he has built an establishment around him that behaves almost exactly the way the old establishment did
There's a reason that the vast majority of Trump's endorsements are coming from sitting legislators - and particularly House members
They are the people he can threaten with primary challenges
But this is what establishments do - "plata o promo" to enforce ideological conformity
The old establishment enforced neoconservatism
The new one enforces the idea that Trump is the greatest person EVER