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ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Paul Manafort will be convicted of tax and banking fraud on February 8, a federal judge in Virginia said Friday, ending the legalization of former president of President Trump's campaign.
US District Judge TS Ellis ordered probation officers to prepare a reporting report, stating that he would not delay sentencing, while Mr. Manafort, convicted of acts of tax and banking fraud in August , cooperated with the office of the special advocate Robert Mueller. Prosecutors had asked for this delay, a joint request from the government, to assess the extent of the defendant's cooperation in recommending a sentence.
"In general, I do not do that and I do not want to treat this case differently," said Judge Ellis, who led the trial for three weeks of Mr. Manafort's trial, giving lectures to prosecutors and defense lawyers on what to do. the trial and remembering his past cases.
Mr Manafort, jailed since June before his indictment, sat in wheelchair court dressed in a green suit with the inscription "Alexandria Detention" written on the back. A lawyer for Mr. Manafort stated that his condition was "serious problems" because of the conditions of his incarceration and that he wanted to be sentenced quickly so that he could be transferred to another institution. . A person familiar with his condition stated that Mr. Manafort had severe foot inflammation related to his diet.
Mr. Manafort incurs at least eight years in prison after being convicted in Virginia. After pleading guilty, he was likely to lose more time after being charged by a federal court in Washington later that month.
Now that former Trump campaign director Paul Manafort is cooperating with prosecutors, he may be able to advance the search for special advocate Robert Mueller. Shelby Holliday, WSJ, explains three key events on which he could share information. Photo: Getty Images.
The 69-year-old political consultant was found guilty of eight counts of tax and banking fraud by a jury formed in Virginia, but this jury resulted in a deadlock of 11 to 1 for ten other leaders. As part of a plea agreement reached last month by Mr. Manafort to avoid the second criminal trial in Washington, Mr. Manafort admitted the alleged conduct in the additional charges, without pleading guilty. He also agreed to cooperate with Mr. Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 elections, and has since met with prosecutors on several occasions for lengthy debriefings, said people familiar with the issue. this case.
According to the plea agreement reached in September, Mr. Manafort and the prosecutors agreed that the government would decide to put an end to the frozen charges on which the jury was suspended either at the time of its conviction or after the cooperation. complete of it. On Friday, prosecutor Uzo Asonye said that they still did not know when his cooperation would end.
Last week, Judge Ellis rejected the plea agreement and ordered Mr. Mueller's team to let him know if they were planning to sue Mr. Manafort for the charges on which he was charged. the jury could not decide. He said it would be "very unusual" to postpone the conviction of Mr. Manafort after the end of his cooperation with prosecutors.
In a report filed on Wednesday, prosecutors said they preferred to keep their arrangement intact, but if that was not possible, they could dismiss the charges without promising not to resume them if they wished. On Friday, Justice Ellis dismissed these charges and placed a date on the calendar.
The Eastern District of Virginia, where Judge Ellis sits, is known as the "Rocket Record", where cases are proceeding much faster than in most other districts. "In this district," said the judge, "the sentence is pronounced within a maximum of two to four months" after a verdict of guilty.
Earlier this week, Mr. Manafort's lawyers, who spent his career advising presidents and other influential politicians and earning tens of millions of dollars through political consultations, asked if he could wear suit at the hearing.
No, Judge Ellis ruled.
"Defendants who are in custody after conviction do not have the natural right to appear for the delivery of their sentence or any other hearing in town attire," he wrote.
Write to Aruna Viswanatha at [email protected]
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