Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Manafort Given 3.5 Years of Extra Prison Time, Faces New Charges
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
March 13, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to an additional three and one-half years of prison, questioning his remorse and rebuking him for his crimes and years of lies. That makes seven and one-half years for Manafort, coming on top of the roughly four-year term he received last week in a separate case in Virginia.

“I am sorry for what I have done and all the activities that have gotten us here today. While I cannot undo the past, I will ensure that the future will be very different.” — Paul Manafort

Adding to his legal woes, Manafort was also charged Wednesday with mortgage fraud, conspiracy and other counts in a new indictment in New York City. The state charges appear at least partly designed to guard against the possibility that he could be pardoned by President Donald Trump and freed early on his federal convictions. The presidential power does not extend to state charges.

“It is hard to overstate the number of lies and the amount of fraud and the extraordinary amount of money involved,” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson told Manafort before sentencing him on conspiracy charges related to his foreign lobbying work and witness tampering.

Manafort Pleads for No Additional Time

Manafort asked for mercy, saying the criminal charges against him have “taken everything from me already.” He pleaded with the judge not to impose any additional time beyond the sentence he had received last week.

“I am sorry for what I have done and all the activities that have gotten us here today,” Manafort said in a steady voice as he read from a written statement. “While I cannot undo the past, I will ensure that the future will be very different.”

The 69-year-old, who arrived in court in a wheelchair, said he was the primary caregiver of his wife and wanted the chance for them to resume their life together.

“She needs me and I need her. I ask you to think of this and our need for each other as you deliberate,” Manafort said. “This case has taken everything from me already — my properties, my cash, my life insurance, my trust accounts for my children and my grandchildren, and more.”

Manafort Was Among First People Charged in Investigation

The hearing was a milestone moment in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election campaign. Manafort was among the first people charged in the investigation, and though the allegations did not relate to his work for Trump, his foreign entanglements and business relationship with a man the U.S. says has ties to Russian intelligence have made him a pivotal figure in the probe.

“I believe that is not reflective of someone who has learned a harsh lesson. It is not a reflection of remorse. It is evidence that something is wrong with sort of a moral compass, that someone in that position would choose to make that decision at that moment.”Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann

His plea for leniency followed prosecutor Andrew Weissmann’s scathing characterization of crimes that the government said spanned more than a decade and continued even while Manafort was awaiting trial. The prosecutor said Manafort took steps to conceal his foreign lobbying work, laundered millions of dollars to fund a lavish lifestyle and then, while on house arrest, coached other witnesses to lie on his behalf.

“I believe that is not reflective of someone who has learned a harsh lesson. It is not a reflection of remorse,” Weissmann said. “It is evidence that something is wrong with sort of a moral compass, that someone in that position would choose to make that decision at that moment.”

Defense Lawyer: Manafort Unduly Punished

Defense lawyer Kevin Downing suggested Manafort was being unduly punished because of the “media frenzy” generated by the appointment of a special counsel.

“That results in a very harsh process for the defendant,” Downing said.

Outside court Wednesday, Downing was shouted down by protesters and declined to comment on the new charges against Manafort.

Wednesday’s sentencing comes in a week of activity for the investigation. Mueller’s prosecutors on Tuesday night updated a judge on the status of cooperation provided by one defendant, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and are expected to do the same later in the week for another.

DON'T MISS

This Is Why Banana Ball Drew 31,000 for the Series in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Harper Homers, Wheeler Strikes out 11 as Phillies Complete Sweep of Reeling Giants

DON'T MISS

Liberal Icon Bernie Sanders Is Running for Senate Reelection, Squelching Retirement Rumors

DON'T MISS

Thief Uses Sleight of Hand to Swipe $255K Tiffany Ring, Cops Say

DON'T MISS

California Reports the First Increase in Groundwater Supplies in 4 Years

DON'T MISS

Fresno Charter School Wants to Increase Enrollment. But Are Its Students Lagging Their Peers?

DON'T MISS

Lawsuit Alleges Decades of Child Sex Abuse at Illinois Juvenile Detention Centers Statewide

DON'T MISS

Texas Soldier Arrested in Russia on Theft Charges After Unexpected Detour

DON'T MISS

Fresno Detectives Arrest Motorcycle Club Leader on Arson, Gun Charges

DON'T MISS

Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism Awarded to The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP and Others

UP NEXT

Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism Awarded to The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP and Others

UP NEXT

A Subset of Alzheimer’s May Be Caused by Two Copies of a Single Gene: New Research

UP NEXT

Liar, Liar: Potential Trump VP Pick Noem’s Claims Are on Fire

UP NEXT

Merced’s Treacherous ‘Tunnel Lane’ Removed from Northbound Highway 99

UP NEXT

US Airstrike Targeting Al-Qaida Leader in Syria Killed a Farmer, American Military Says

UP NEXT

Another State Department Official Resigns Over Biden’s Gaza Policy

UP NEXT

Senators Want Limits on Government’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology for Airport Screening

UP NEXT

Biden Says ‘Order Must Prevail’ on Campuses, but He Won’t Send National Guard

UP NEXT

Police Dismantle UCLA Tent Camp, Take Pro-Palestinian Protesters Into Custody

UP NEXT

Fresno State’s Randa Jarrar Dragged Out of Event Featuring Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik

Thief Uses Sleight of Hand to Swipe $255K Tiffany Ring, Cops Say

10 hours ago

California Reports the First Increase in Groundwater Supplies in 4 Years

10 hours ago

Fresno Charter School Wants to Increase Enrollment. But Are Its Students Lagging Their Peers?

10 hours ago

Lawsuit Alleges Decades of Child Sex Abuse at Illinois Juvenile Detention Centers Statewide

11 hours ago

Texas Soldier Arrested in Russia on Theft Charges After Unexpected Detour

11 hours ago

Fresno Detectives Arrest Motorcycle Club Leader on Arson, Gun Charges

11 hours ago

Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism Awarded to The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP and Others

12 hours ago

Hamas Accepts Gaza Cease-Fire; Israel Launches Strikes in Rafah

13 hours ago

Tom Brady’s Netflix Roast Features Lots of Jabs and a Belichick-Kraft Reunion

13 hours ago

CA Limits How Police Respond to Protests. Why Were Bean Bag Shotguns Used at UCLA?

13 hours ago

This Is Why Banana Ball Drew 31,000 for the Series in Fresno

If you’re unaware of the Savannah Banana phenomenon, you must be actively avoiding social media, as the team and their rivals, the Par...

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

This Is Why Banana Ball Drew 31,000 for the Series in Fresno

9 hours ago

Harper Homers, Wheeler Strikes out 11 as Phillies Complete Sweep of Reeling Giants

10 hours ago

Liberal Icon Bernie Sanders Is Running for Senate Reelection, Squelching Retirement Rumors

10 hours ago

Thief Uses Sleight of Hand to Swipe $255K Tiffany Ring, Cops Say

10 hours ago

California Reports the First Increase in Groundwater Supplies in 4 Years

10 hours ago

Fresno Charter School Wants to Increase Enrollment. But Are Its Students Lagging Their Peers?

11 hours ago

Lawsuit Alleges Decades of Child Sex Abuse at Illinois Juvenile Detention Centers Statewide

11 hours ago

Texas Soldier Arrested in Russia on Theft Charges After Unexpected Detour

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend