Update: George Papadopoulos, the first Trump associate to be sentenced in the Mueller probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election, has been sentenced to 14 days in jail and 1 year supervised release for the crime of making false statements to the F.B.I. I assume he got a voluntary surrender -- I wonder where he will be designated to serve the sentence. Since he lives in Chicago, it could be this Residential Re-entry Facility.

Here is Papadopoulos' Sentencing Memorandum. Here is the Government's Sentencing Memorandum.

Update: According to reporters in the courtroom, Papadopoulos' lawyer told the Judge, " "The President of the United States hindered the investigation more than George Papadopoulos ever did.” He also said Papadopoulos was motivated to lie in part by Trump characterizing investigation as “Fake news.” CNN has more here. [More...]

Democrats gave Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavenaugh a tough time during his confirmation hearings this week.

I have not seen much discussion of where he stands on criminal justice issues: the rights of the accused, sentencing policy, drug law, immigrants and refugees, or the death penalty. I am more interested in his positions on those issues than on whether he would potentially give Trump a legal pass by upholding a refusal by Trump to comply with a subpoena from Mueller. The Federal Defender for the District of Columbia, A.J. Kramer, will be testifying today in support of Kavenaugh (personally, not on behalf of his office). His written remarks are here.

So long as Trump gets to pick the nominee, one will just be worse than the next. That's why elections matter so much. At Vox today, a presidential historian explains Donald Trump in one sentence:

“The fish rots from the head,” he told me, “and the stench of this administration starts at the very top.”

Trump loved the story of the snake. We all predicted that the fictional snake would jump up one day and bite Trump in the as*.

And now he has. Here's the anonymous op-ed in the New York Times Here's Trump's response. Here are the staff denials to date.

The sad thing is there is no one to cheer for here. The author sounds like a dangerous infiltrator trying to foist his or her own brand of conservatism on the country. So, who is it? [More...]

The Rolling Stones and Axel Rose of Guns 'N Roses singing "Salt of the Earth."

Happy Labor Day to all.

Here's how labor day began. [More...]

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team picked up another notch on its belt today with the guilty plea of Sam Patten, a Republican lobbyist who specialized in Russian and Ukraine affairs.

Patten pleaded guilty to a FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act) violation. The NY Times decodes several of the persons referred to as "Foreigner A" "Foreigner B", "Company A", etc.

The Information (charging document, in lieu of an Indictment) is here. His plea agreement is here. His statement of offense (factual basis for the plea) is here. [More...]

A new poll by the Washington Post finds that 60% of Americans disapprove of Donald Trump. On the other hand, they support Robert Mueller and Jeff Sessions.

Here are the results.

CA Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill today eliminating cash bail for arrestees.

Instead of having to post a cash bond, the court will conduct a "risk assessment" to determine whether they should be released on electronic monitoring or detained pending trial.

The bill is supposed to eliminate disparate treatment of the economically challenged who can't afford bail. But the ACLU forsees other problems developing due to handing the decision off to judges. [More...]

It's a jail day for me, open thread day for you.

All topics welcome.

Yesterday John McCain's family announced he would not seek further medical treatment for cancer. Today he passed away.

I will mostly remember him for his ill-advised, ill-fated choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008. I still shudder to think of the consequences to the country had he been elected and died during his presidency. Somehow the country has sunk to Palin's level anyway with Donald Trump, but that's not McCain's fault.

R.I.P. John McCain.

CBS News reports:

Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret Hunter, were indicted [Tuesday] by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of using $250,000 worth of campaign funds for personal use, as well as filing false reports to the Federal Election Commission.

Hunter, a Republican from California, is accused of using campaign finances inappropriately several times between 2009 and 2016. The funds were allegedly used for family vacations to locations such as Hawaii and Italy, as well as more mundane expenses such as dental work and school tuition. The Justice Department also alleges that the Hunters used tens of thousands of dollars for smaller expenses such as fast food and video games.

The 47 page Indictment is here. The investigation began into the Duncans began in 2016. It's the cover-up that got them: [More...]

Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to 8 charges today in New York.

The Information (charges against him) is here. More interesting is his plea agreement which is available here. [More...]

Original Post, 8/16/18, Manifort Jury Deliberating: The jury is out in the Paul Manafort trial. His charges:

• willfully subscribing and filing false income tax returns (Counts 1 through 5),
• willfully failing to file foreign bank account
  reports (“FBARs”) (Counts 11 through 14),
• bank fraud (Counts 25 through 27, 30 and 32),
• bank fraud conspiracy (Counts 24, 28, 29, and 31)

It's interesting to see all the media articles with photos of Manafort and counsel arriving at the courthouse and Manafort and his wife leaving the courthouse. The photos are all from prior court appearances. Manafort is detained during trial, his bond having been revoked in June. There are no photos of him coming to or leaving the courthouse during the trial. [More...]