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"I feel bad for him," said Trump, describing Manafort's legal problems as "a very sad situation."
Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the US District Court told Manafort that, despite his apologies, his lawyers' arguments regarding the absence of charges directly related to collusion in the 2016 election were "only one more thing, inconsistent with the notion of accepting responsibility. "
In September 2018, as part of an appeal to justice, Manafort admitted to laundering money, misappropriating tax and illegally lobbying abroad, in connection with with his years of remunerative work for Ukrainian politicians.
He pleaded guilty to two counts: conspiracy against the United States and alteration of conspiracy witness, which he committed after his arrest.
Jackson also considered that he had intentionally lied to investigators and swore before a grand jury about his contact with a Russian partner during the 2016 campaign, thus breaking his plea agreement.
"I'm sorry for what I did," Manafort told the audience room. "Let me be very clear, I accept responsibility for the acts that have brought me to be here today."
Manafort was then the victim of new criminal charges in New York, not even an hour after learning his jail sentence for federal crimes.
The new case casts a torch of increasing chatter that the president could forgive him. If he was convicted of crimes in Manhattan, Trump would have no power of thanks.
The Manhattan district attorney accused Wednesday the former president of the Trump campaign of mortgage fraud, falsification of commercial documents and conspiracy for a total of 16 counts, the prosecutor's office said. The charges relate to mortgages he received on properties in the New York area.
Without commenting directly on the new charges, Trump lamented the situation of his former assistant.
"On a human basis, it's a sad thing," he said.
The president said that he had not considered pardoning Manafort, but that he did not rule out this possibility in the future.
"I did not even think about it then," Trump said, questioned about his intentions for forgiveness for his former campaign president.
"This is not something that concerns me," he said, recalling that he felt "bad" for his former help.
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