• Ænima@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      Let’s say you were doing shady, illegal shit for some mob boss-wannabe. You know a lot of shit. Have emails, phone messages, recorded meetings, and one day you’re picked up on charges for something you did for the boss.

      You have two choices, go to jail for 10-15 years or take a plea deal where you give up all evidence on the boss and in return are given only probation. You’d really give up a portion of your life in federal prison for that guy?

      That’s the situation that this kind of shit is used for. He didn’t get this light sentence for nothing. Most of these people are spineless tools that were used and thrown under the bus by someone higher on the chain than themselves.

      • lennybird@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        This.

        A lot of people don’t seem to understand that this is how cases against mob-bosses work. If you’re dealing with a slippery high-profile target who has lawyers to boot, you build your case from the bottom-up by turning little fish against bigger fish until your corroborating evidence begins to pile up.

        (As a side note, that’s like the entire point of RICO cases)

        It’s why the complaints against Garland are largely unfounded. They act like he did nothing upon assuming office, but he was literally heading the DOJ as they were amidst the largest criminal investigation in the history of the department. As these cases turn investigation->indictments->plea deals and convictions, that evidence can then be utilized to prosecute the case against bigger fish, like Trump and his co-conspirators.