The pathetic sight of Paul Manafort, sitting in a wheelchair before a judge in a Virginia court to receive his sentence in a fraud case on March 8, was captured skillfully by a court artist.
But lest any think we have any pity for this felon, we should point out that feigning illness when coming before the bench is common practice for top officials in Ukraine, where Manafort did some of his dirtiest work.
Manafort is allegedly suffering from gout, which is easily treatable and rarely puts anyone in a wheelchair. His appearance looks like a pathetic ruse — another case of fraud.
Worse was the pathetic sentence Manafort was handed—47 months— and the judge’s comment that Manafort had lived an “otherwise blameless” life and had “earned the admiration of a number of people.”
That sounds absurd in Ukraine, where Manafort was instrumental in resurrecting the career of a wannabe dictator — former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort took millions in corrupt payments for his services — money looted from Ukrainians by the Yanukovych kleptocracy.
Manafort on March 13 received another light sentence of 43 months for two conspiracy charges he has already pleaded guilty to. He has not even been charged for possible crimes committed in Ukraine.
But for a U.S. judge to describe his life as “otherwise blameless” is a travesty. Manafort worked for the Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos, Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko, and Angola’s Jonas Savimbi. He is linked to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin via Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who hired Manafort in early 2004 to help Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov.
Ukraine suffered the consequences of Manafort’s malign influence. Ukrainians had hoped the U.S. justice system would deliver justice to Manafort. But, while it’s heartening to know he will be stripped of his assets and sit in prison for a few years, the sentences fell short of justice.
