Why would anyone in the Trump administration want to help Paul Manafort?
by Tiana Lowe
| December 07, 2018 06:28 PM
For months, it's seemed curious that Paul Manafort has been kept in solitary confinement since the beginning of the summer. At least since July, Manafort has spent 23 hours a day locked up with the sole exception of visiting his attorneys, the sort of treatment usually reserved for uniquely dangerous criminals, not white-collar felons. As of October, Manafort was wheelchair-ridden due to health problems, never explicated or directly tied to his confinement, but 23 hours a day in solitude certainly couldn't have helped.
Legal reports claimed that Manafort was stuck in solitary to guarantee his safety. Special counsel Robert Mueller's latest filing points to a more plausible reason: The White House couldn't stop sticking its neck out for Manafort.
"In a text exchange from May 26, 2018, Manafort authorized a person to speak with an Administration official on Manafort's behalf," Mueller writes. "Separately, according to another Manafort colleague, Manafort said in February 2018 that Manafort had been in communication with a senior Administration official up through February 2018."
The White House needs to stop cavorting with criminals in general, but this one in particular. Manafort was a dangerous hire, and once President Trump wanted to fire Manafort, he should have done so and then instructed everyone in his circle to cease all contact with him.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/why-would-anyone-in-the-trump-administration-want-to-help-paul-manafort
