So many twists and turns!
I’m not entirely sure what to make of this.
It sounds like the judge has accepted that prosecutors made and then broke an agreement not to indict Michelle. He’s furious with Ryan for initially lying about there being no promises outside of the written plea agreement. The judge grilled him and threatened him with sanctions and brought forward the date he must report to prison. And okay, in a way, fair enough – it’s bad to commit perjury. Even if you’re doing it on the basis of the government saying they can’t make the promise “outside the four corners of the plea agreement” because that’s just not the way it works okay, take it or leave it – there’s still at least something bad about it.
But…shouldn’t the judge be more furious with the prosecutors? Why the repeated complaints about Ryan “inducing” the judge, but no rebuking prosecutors for inducing Ryan to induce the judge? None of the articles I’ve seen report any sign of the judge being so much as mildly miffed with the government. Has anyone else found otherwise? Am I missing something?
[Correction: Ryan and this small Turkish news site are saying it’s Ryan’s lawyers who might be sanctioned. That makes more sense. Although everyone I’ve spoken to and every journalist I’ve read seem to think it’s unclear whether it was the prosecutors or the lawyers who lied, so something still doesn’t feel right here.]
Loving the (Freudian?) typo though.
