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We’re about to find out if a 21-month jail sentence is enough time to cure a bad weiner.
Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for sexting a 15 year old girl, perhaps for now putting an end to a sordid and absolutely disgraceful chain of events which saw a one-time nationally prominent Democrat (and chief media defender of Obamacare) reveal an absolute lack of adult control and absence of a basic moral compass.
However, given the depth of Weiner’s predatory compulsions and depravity, the 21 month sentence could be viewed as quite lenient treatment of the former New York congressman and husband to Hillary Clinton top aide Huma Abedin.
Weiner’s brief sentence shows the advantages not only of plea bargaining, but also of a process known as fact bargaining.
The Background
Prior to 2016, Weiner was the tragic lead whose lack of basic adult control — and moral compass — sent him from national prominence as one of the chief Obamacare defenders in Washington, and a ranking House representative from the nation’s largest city, into the depths to which he now resides: Child molester. Pervert. Felon.
This man’s public downfall started in 2011 with an expose by the original Breitbart website. Weiner further humiliated himself, his wife and their followers when he sought the New York City mayoralty in 2013. That quest for higher office was soon derailed by new evidence of his predatory activities including his use of an arguably racist Latino alter ego “Carlos Danger” when preying on vulnerable young targets, further illustrating he had not learned the perils of his own ongoing lack of control.
Despite the sordid revelations, Weiner’s criminal exposure only really gained steam about one year ago when new text photos surfaced of the former Congressman’s apparent self-pleasuring, constituting a “sexualized image with a child in it,” referring to Weiner’s young son who was visible in the photos. Soon, a young accuser came forward with evidence. Apparently, there was too much for the federal authorities to ignore.
Analysis
Weiner’s brief sentence shows the advantages not only of plea bargaining, but also of a process known as fact bargaining.
Plea bargaining allows defendants to “accept responsibility” and gain the cooperation of the government prosecutors through their agreement to recommend leniency to the sentencing judge. In the federal judicial system, there are advisory sentencing guidelines (which use a points system for various crimes and what are called enhancing factors, and others called mitigating factors). The guideline calculations are made by defendants and prosecutors, and in plea deals the cooperation is key, because an agreement to plead to one crime allows a defendant to avoid the risk of conviction on other possible counts which could involve much more prison time if the defendant gets convicted. The judge, in all cases, has the final say on any sentence, regardless of the agreement between defendant and prosecutor.
This is where Weiner’s possible involvement with certain laptop computers, and access to classified data through his wife Huma’s job in the State Department, become critical factors. (One must wonder the value of Weiner’s silence, should Hillary Clinton seek a 2020 rematch or if still-wife Huma Abedin has plans of her own.)
The government did not have to offer a plea deal. The government could also have conditioned leniency on Weiner’s “cooperation” in other inquiries.
Instead, it offered a deal, allowing Weiner to admit to some facts, to some crimes.
But what’s critical is that the deal permits Weiner to avoid addressing many other things.
The Takeaway
Today’s sentencing assures Weiner avoids the embarrassment of a criminal trial, and in many ways it enables him — now an admitted, convicted predator — to control the narrative and conceal evidence of perhaps many, many other crimes, sexual or otherwise.
Finally, the 21-month sentence won’t be what it seems. While parole has been abolished in the federal system, defendants must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. This means that good behavior should shave off about three months for Weiner. But there are other ways to lessen the prison stint.
There are ways to get credit for “rehab” and also the possibility of serving part of the sentence in a halfway house where Weiner could be “free” during the day. The result? Weiner could do less than one year, and I can even see a scenario where he is released in as little as six months.
Weiner has revealed far too much about himself. What’s critical, though, is what he and his enablers will now be allowed to conceal, indefinitely.
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