US prosecutors say no leniency is needed for Manafort, Trump's ex-help

(Reuters) – Special advocate Robert Mueller's team said Saturday before an American judge that former President of the campaign for President Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, had "repeatedly violated the law," saying that he did not deserve clemency.

Mueller's recommendation, which investigates Russia's role in the 2016 US election and whether the Trump campaign has plotted with Moscow, increases the chances that Manafort will spend the rest of his life behind him. bars.

Last September, Manafort pleaded guilty in a federal court in Washington for conspiring against the United States – a charge ranging from money laundering to unregistered lobbying activities – and conspiracy to obstruct justice. for attempted alteration of witnesses.

He may be sentenced to a maximum of five years for each count, for a legal maximum of 10 years.

Although Mueller did not recommend a specific sentence, he described Manafort as a "hardened" criminal who risked repeating criminal behavior when he was released from prison.

As part of a previous plea agreement with Mueller, the special advocate dropped five other indictments and Manafort agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. But in November, Mueller's team accused Manafort of violating the deal by repeatedly lying to prosecutors on topics such as his interactions with a trading partner, he said, with links to Russian intelligence services. The judge decided this month that Manafort had broken the deal.

"For more than a decade, Manafort has repeatedly and shamelessly violated the law," Mueller's office said in a Saturday sentencing memorandum released by the court.

"His criminal actions were daring, some of them were committed under the spotlight because of his work as campaign president and, later, while he was on bail on bail. this Court. "

Manafort, a 69-year-old Republican political consultant who earned millions of dollars working for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, faces 25 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines in a second case in Virginia in which he was convicted last year financial crimes.

Trump did not rule out forgiveness for Manafort, who worked for the campaign for five pivotal months in mid-2016, including at the party's national convention.

But the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has initiated criminal proceedings against Manafort, which would be outside Trump's pardon power for federal crimes.

To date, 34 individuals and three companies have pleaded guilty to, were charged with, or were otherwise engaged in the Mueller investigation.

Russia denies having tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and Trump said his team was not colluding with Moscow.

A senior US Department of Justice official said Friday that Mueller would not be submitting a much-awaited final report next week, as the document was expected in the immediate future.

Judge T.S. Ellis, who oversaw the Manafort trial in Alexandria, Virginia, will sentence him on March 8. He will be followed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who will decide March 13 the maximum term of 10 years provided by law to give Manafort in Washington. and whether his sentence will be concurrent or subsequent to his sentence in Virginia.

Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago, said he was expecting Jackson to follow his turn from Ellis. If Ellis hurts himself at Manafort, Jackson will serve his sentence consecutively to secure a long prison sentence, he said.

"I have no doubt that she is going to inflict significant punishment on her," Mariotti said.