U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III is being slammed on social media for giving a surprisingly light sentence to Paul Manafort, who was President Donald Trump’s campaign manager for part of the 2016 election.
Manafort was found guilty on eight counts, including bank fraud, filing false tax returns and failure to report foreign bank accounts. Sentencing guidelines called for 19 to 24 years in prison.
Manafort’s attorneys argued for leniency by claiming he was a “first-time offender.” Ellis agreed, saying Manafort “has lived an otherwise blameless life,” and sentenced him to just 47 months.
However, as “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert cracked, “He wasn’t so much a first-time offender as a first-time getting caughter.” In fact, Manafort has lived anything but an “otherwise blameless life,” often working for ruthless dictators and notorious human rights abusers.
On Twitter, people lambasted the judge, both for his comments and for the sentence. Many pointed out other people who had received much harsher terms for far less serious offenses:
FYI in 2018, #JudgeEllis sentenced Frederick Turner, 37, to a mandatory minimum of 40 years in prison for dealing methamphetamine: "I chafe a bit at that, but I follow the law. If I thought it was blatantly immoral, I'd have to resign. It's wrong, but not immoral." #PaulManafort
— Laura Coates (@thelauracoates) March 8, 2019
“To be rich, white man in America, you get a different kind of justice”
— It’s Mueller Time (@BookHookah) March 8, 2019
Paul Butler on Paul Manafort’s 4 year sentence. #Hardball
pic.twitter.com/lWlWO56wKJ
Aside from killing and eating those kids, Jeffrey Dahmer "lived an otherwise blameless life." #Manafort
— Randi Mayem Singer (@rmayemsinger) March 8, 2019
#Manafort: 47 months for a lifelong carnival of criminality.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) March 8, 2019
Petraeus: 0 days for trading the country's highest secrets for a more favorable biography.
Manning: 35 YEARS for revealing evidence of actual war crimes to the press.
Your sentence derives from your proximity to power.
The judge noted that Freddy Krueger “lived an otherwise blameless life,” was a good friend and liked children, but that does not erase his crimes. https://t.co/BbVy30hNeR
— Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) March 7, 2019
For context on Manafort’s 47 months in prison, my client yesterday was offered 36-72 months in prison for stealing $100 worth of quarters from a residential laundry room.
— Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) March 8, 2019
Two weeks ago a black Mississippi man was given 12 years in prison for possessing marijuana that he bought legally in Oregon https://t.co/0BTwjUsPYChttps://t.co/P9656sTM5f
— Rob Flaherty (@Rob_Flaherty) March 8, 2019
If not for his occasional attempts to infect the citizens of Gotham with his deadly poison, the Joker lived an otherwise blameless life https://t.co/mmOc2MTgol
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) March 7, 2019
Note this judge went a full *75% below* the guidelines to reward Manafort even tho:
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) March 8, 2019
The judge says he was "surprised" Manafort did *not even express regret* today
Manafort was convicted of many felonies
Manafort committed several more obstruction *crimes after his indictment*
A blameless life? A blameless life? A blameless life? Geezus Fucking Christ! It is hard to keep my mouth shut these days!!!!
— Stevie Van Zandt (@StevieVanZandt) March 8, 2019
Paul Manafort, who was convicted of 8 felonies, just got less jail time (47 months or 3 years and 11 months) than people in New York State get for selling small amounts of weed (4 years for 25 grams)
— Roberto Ferdman (@robferdman) March 8, 2019
Paul Manafort getting such little jail time for such serious crimes lays out for the world how it’s almost impossible for rich people to go to jail for the same amount of time as someone who is lower income.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 8, 2019
In our current broken system, “justice” isn’t blind. It’s bought. https://t.co/1UgBXmR8bl
Saying Manafort lived an otherwise blameless life is.....whoooo boy.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) March 7, 2019
Bernard noble. Got 13 years for simple possession of two joints worth of marijuana. Had priors for drug possession charges to which he pleaded out. Subject to Mandatory minimums. Trial judge reduced sentence at first but orleans parish da appealed for statutory sentence... https://t.co/iCozwUjYMW
— Krishna Sai Andavolu (@kandavolu) March 8, 2019
Crystal Mason, a Black woman in Texas, just started serving a sentence of five years for casting an illegal ballot because she didn’t know her felony made her ineligible.
— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) March 8, 2019
Paul Manafort will finish his sentence before Crystal Mason.
Watch whiteness work.
If not for destroying Alderaan, Darth Vader lived an otherwise blameless life. https://t.co/qGSZPTXfBp
— Gina 💫 (@ginalou) March 7, 2019
The Manafort sentence is a perfect example of the "white collar exception" to the criminal laws. Low level drug dealers and bank robbers routinely get 20 years, and Manafort has done far more damage to the United States
— Tim Wu (@superwuster) March 8, 2019
BREAKING: Paul Manafort gets 47 months for multitude of crimes.
— Dana Gould (@danagould) March 8, 2019
RELATED: African American man gets 72 months for quietly thinking he would’ve gotten a longer sentence if convicted of the same crimes.
In 2009, Judge Ellis sentenced Rep. Bill Jefferson (D-La.) to 13 yrs on corruption charges. It was the longest sentence EVER for a member of Congress.
— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) March 8, 2019
Today, on far more serious charges, Ellis gave Paul Manafort 47 months instead of the recommended 19-24 yrs. (h/t @LamarWhiteJr) pic.twitter.com/SSR86CtuDt
If Manafort lived an "otherwise blameless life" then I must have lived an otherwise heterosexual one. It makes about as much sense.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 8, 2019
Judge Ellis’s assessment that Manafort led an “otherwise blameless life” was proof that he’s unfit to serve on the federal bench. I’ve rarely been more disgusted by a judge’s transparently preferential treatment to a rich white guy who betrayed the law and the nation.
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) March 8, 2019
What if #PaulManafort were young, Black, Brown, poor &/or unknown?
— Rev. Cornell William Brooks (@CornellWBrooks) March 8, 2019
Would he have received less than 4 years of a possible 25 year sentence?
The 2.2 million people already behind bars know the answer. #Massincaceration #prisonreform pic.twitter.com/LXwTjVRAM5
Support HuffPost
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.
Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.
Would you join us to help keep our stories free for all? Your contribution of as little as $2 will go a long way.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you’ll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.