lawyer mr. downing this morning was that, quote, but for this special counsel investigation, manafort wouldn't have been charged in the first place. that argument, she says, falls flat. quote, it is certainly not unusual that investigators uncover crime x when they're looking into crime y. and the perpetrators who get uncovered that way do not get a pass. saying i'm sorry i got caught is not an inspiring plea for leniency. then she says, first of all, it's entirely relevant to the question before the court -- excuse me, first of all, it's entirely irrelevant to the question before the court. the number of times the argument was repeated notwithstanding -- excuse me. first of all, it is entirely irrelevant to the question before the court. the number of times the argument was repeated, not withstanding the fact that it didn't have any bearing on the question at hand, suggests that it wasn't being repeated for the benefit of the person you were trying to persuade he had accepted responsibility, but it was being repeated for some other audience. so forgive my missteps there.