Manafort is transferred from the prison where he was treated as a "V.I.P."

WASHINGTON – In the hope of delaying his lawsuit in Virginia for bank fraud and money laundering, Paul Manafort managed this week to be transferred from a jail where prosecutors have called his "VIP" treatment pretend that he is worried about his safety.

Manafort, the former president of President Trump's campaign, has been incarcerated since June 15 in a regional prison in the Virginia countryside about two hours south of Washington. Prosecutors said Wednesday in a lawsuit that Mr. Manafort had "unique privileges", including a larger than average cell, "his own bathroom and shower, his own personal phone and his own workspace for himself. prepare for the trial ". They were also not required to wear the prison uniform and were allowed to use his laptop in his cell, but Mr. Manafort's lawyers, in a motion to delay his trial of July 25, argued had to travel 100 miles to meet their client. Phone calls with him were limited to 10 minutes, and electronic communications were restricted, they said.

Judge T. S. Ellis III of the United States District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, sued the case. On Tuesday, he ordered that Mr. Manafort be transferred to a prison in Alexandria, about 20 minutes from Washington, "to make sure the defendant has access to his lawyer and can properly prepare his defense."

Manafort's lawyers then objected, arguing that "after reflection, issues of distance and embarrassment must give way to concerns about his safety and, more importantly, the challenges he will face in adapting to a new place of detention "only two weeks before the trial. 19659002] But Judge Ellis apparently made his decision. "I just complained" of the Warsaw prison in Virginia, he wrote, Mr. Manafort's lawyers had not identified any specific threat to his safety at the Alexandria prison. The jailers are very familiar with the housing of high-ranking defendants, including foreign and domestic terrorists, spies and traitors, he writes

: "The defender's access to a lawyer and his ability to prepare for trial outweighs his personal comfort ". I said. Moreover, he wrote, in the Alexandria prison, Mr. Manafort "will in fact avoid the discomfort of long journeys during the days of trial."

Manafort faced a difficult legal battle. In addition to accusations of financial fraud in Virginia, he faces charges in Washington, including violating federal lobbying laws. Last month, a federal judge in Washington revoked Mr. Manafort's bail and sent him to jail pending trial, citing new charges that he allegedly tried to influence the witness's testimony. two government witnesses

. Investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, suggested to Judge Ellis this week that Mr. Manafort was trying to delay the Virginia case so that he would face charges in Washington first.

"Think about it going elsewhere" Mr. Manafort said in a recorded phone call from the prison quoted by prosecutors. "There is a strategy about it."

Although the Virginia case appears to be a fairly straightforward procedure for bank fraud and money laundering, the Washington case could be more perilous politically for the White House. possible connections with pro-Russian forces. Mr. Manafort's lawsuit on these charges, which include obstruction of justice and violations of federal lobbying laws, is now scheduled for September.