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SCOTUS Has Bad News For Paul Manafort In 'Double Jeopardy' Case

Ruling in a case out of Alabama, SCOTUS rules 7-2 that defendants can be tried in state and federal courts for the same crime. Bad news for Paul Manafort, facing charges in New York that he was convicted of in federal court.

So that takes care of the Trump pardon problem. The Supreme Court decided 7-2 today that states have the right under the dual sovereignty provision to charge defendants already convicted of federal crimes. ABC:

In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday has upheld an exception to the Fifth Amendment's ban on "double jeopardy," allowing a state and the federal government to each prosecute an individual for the same action if it violates both state and federal laws.

The case could have incidentally expanded the presidential pardon power by ending the exception, but the court did not take that step.

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