Others were less coy about calling out sentencing disparities.
In federal cases, mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes — including drug, pornography, and gun convictions — have been laid out by Congress, not judges.
“There are non-wealthy minorities who went to jail for drug crimes who are screaming right now about how light of a sentence Manafort got …” national-security lawyer Bradley P. Moss, tweeted.
“Go read the mandatory minimum sentencing provisions for drug offenders and tell me with a straight face being a rich, white male engaging in tax fraud and shady illegal lobbying for violent dictators who slaughter dissidents means you’ll face equivalent punishment in the courts,” he continued in a second tweet.
Moss was not the only one to make that point.
Republican strategist Rick Wilson tweeted, “Try being a black kid with 1.00001 ounces of marijuana an not getting the mandatory minimum.”
Former US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, and current University of Michigan Law School professor, Barb McQuade also weighed in.
“Judge Ellis calls #Manafort’s guidelines range ‘quite high,'” she tweeted. “The guidelines are based on data from other cases, and are high here only because the conduct was so egregious. Why are the guidelines considered too high only when the defendant is wealthy and powerful?”
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