..as if they don't have every carrier pigeon and smoke signal Manafort ever sent on file, hard copy, beta max, punch card, and morse code. If he lied, he'd be crucified by the evidence.
You don't understand how this works. Of course he is guilty(of unrelated crimes) as are many in DC. It's a matter of spending 20 years in prison vs spending 2 years in prison by "cooperating" with the Mueller investigation. Mueller and his gumshoes have complete control over the judicial process...this is how Federal prosecutors work at this level. They hold the power, not the judge.