Richard Blumenthal Calls Paul Manafort's Sentence A 'Miscarriage Of Justice,' Says Manafort Threatened U.S. Democracy

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal blasted the sentence issued to Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, during an appearance on CNN Thursday, joining several others in condemning the 47-month prison sentence.

Appearing on CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront, Blumenthal said that Manafort's sentence was a "miscarriage of justice."

"My takeaway is much the same, that the American people would be justified in feeling that there has been some miscarriage of justice here in the leniency of this sentence," Blumenthal said.

Defense attorneys initially recommended between 19 and 25 years for Manafort, who was convicted of tax and bank fraud, among other charges. However, Federal Judge T.S. Ellis said the recommendation was "excessive" as Manafort had "lived an otherwise blameless life."

"Those sentencing guidelines apply to all defendants," Blumenthal told Burnett, "And the judge really needs a good reason to go below them. The recommendation of 19 to 25 years is an assessment of the severity of the crimes, and what Paul Manafort did was, essentially, potentially, threaten our very democracy. The principles of our democracy. That's the reason that he is in that courtroom. That's the reason that he's been convicted of these very serious crimes."

New Jersey Senator and 2020 presidential candidate Cory Booker also mentioned Manafort's sentencing, bringing it up during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The show, taped on Thursday evening, will air on Friday night.

"I'm really ticked off about this," Booker said. "One of my friends says that we have a criminal justice system that treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent, there are people from neighborhoods like mine in America who get convictions for doing things that two of the last three presidents admitted to doing."

"We are a nation right now that churns in to our criminal justice system the most vulnerable people — you can tell a lot by a country about who they incarcerate. So in Russia, they incarcerate political opposition, in Turkey they are actually incarcerating the media — be careful when you travel there, sire — but in our country we pray on the most vulnerable citizens in our nation: poor folks, mentally ill folks, addicted folks and overwhelmingly black and brown folks," Booker added.

Colbert asked Booker if he was shocked that Manafort was given four years, to which Booker said no.

"No, this criminal justice system can't surprise me anymore," he said.

Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern who had an affair with former President Bill Clinton, tweeted about the sentence, saying that she was threatened with 27 years in prison for attempting to cover up her relationship with Clinton.

Lewinsky retweeted whistleblower Edward Snowden, who referenced the 35-year prison sentence issued to Bradley Manning in 2013 for passing classified documents to WikiLeaks.

Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) also condemned the sentencing, retweeting an article from the New York Times, saying, "White collar criminals who betray their country can obviously get preferential treatment in Judge Ellis's courtroom. Disgraceful."

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Cali.), the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, introduced a bill into the House of Representatives that would alert Congress should Trump pardon anyone connected to ongoing investigations involving himself of members of his family.

In a tweet, Schiff spoke out against Manafort's lawyer, Kevin Downing, who told reporters that Manafort was not involved in any collusion with Russia.

"I think most importantly what you saw today is the same thing we had said from day one: There is absolutely no evidence that Paul Manafort was involved with any collusion with any government official from Russia," Downing said.

In response to Downing's statement, Schiff tweeted: "The statement by Paul Manafort's lawyer after an already lenient sentence — repeating the President's mantra of no collusion — was no accident. It was a deliberate appeal for a pardon. One injustice must not follow another."

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez retweeted MSNBC's Ari Melber, saying that "'justice' isn't blind, it's bought," in America's criminal justice system.

"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. In our current broken system, "justice" isn't blind. It's bought," she said.

While appearing on MSNBC, former CIA Director John Brennan also criticized Manafort's sentence, saying, "It's an extraordinarily lenient sentence in light of the extent and scope of Mr. Manafort's criminality. I think this sentence says a lot more about Judge Ellis than it does about Paul Manafort."

Brennan also criticized Ellis' estimation of Manafort's character.

"That is just mind-boggling. Paul Manafort has a demonstrated track record of criminal, unethical, unprincipled behavior," he said.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a 2020 presidential candidate and a former prosecutor, tweeted that crimes conducted in an office should be sentenced the same as crimes on the streets.

"My view on Manafort sentence: Guidelines there for a reason. His crimes took place over years and he led far from a "blameless life." Crimes committed in an office building should be treated as seriously as crimes committed on a street corner. Can't have two systems of justice," she said.