Manafort pleads not guilty in Va.
President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager pleads not guilty to tax and fraud charges in the second case against him by the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.
President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager pleaded not guilty to tax and fraud charges in federal court in Virginia on Thursday, as he appeared before a judge in the second criminal case brought against him by the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.
During the hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Judge T.S. Ellis III put Paul Manafort on home confinement, requiring him to wear a GPS monitoring device, and set a trial for July 10.
Manafort last week also pleaded not guilty in a related case in Washington, D.C., where he is set to go to trial Sept. 17. Manafort lives in Virginia and was indicted there in February.
Both indictments accuse Manafort of hiding the work he did for and the money he made from a Russia-friendly political party in Ukraine and former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.
In Washington, Manafort faces counts of conspiracy to launder more than $30 million, making false statements, failing to follow lobbying disclosure laws and working as an unregistered foreign agent.
In Virginia, he is accused of hiding foreign bank accounts, falsifying his income taxes and failing to report foreign bank accounts.
Manafort also faces bank fraud charges in Virginia not directly related to his work in Ukraine. After his business there dried up, according to prosecutors, Manafort fraudulently secured over $20 million in loans in part by using his real estate as collateral.
Manafort said nothing to a gaggle of reporters outside the courthouse, holding his wife’s arm as they hurried to a waiting SUV.
Also waiting was Bill Christeson of Kensington, Md., who said he has followed Manafort to several court appearances.
“Show us your bracelet!” Christeson shouted before throwing a Russian flag at Manafort and calling him a “traitor.”
If convicted of bank fraud in Virginia, Manafort faces up to 270 years in prison, but prosecutors say federal sentencing guidelines call for much less time: four to five years. He faces up to 15 years on the charges of filing false tax returns and up to 20 years on the charges of failing to report foreign bank accounts. Guidelines call for about eight to 10 years.