Trump’s imprisoned ex-aide goes to hospital
Disgraced ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been hospitalized after experiencing heart trouble in prison, his attorney said.
Manafort suffered cardiac complications on Thursday and was taken to a hospital near the federal lockup in central Pennsylvania where he’s serving his 71⁄2-year sentence, the lawyer, Todd Blanche, told the Daily News. He was in “stable” condition Tuesday and still recovering at the hospital, Blanche said.
“His family and friends are extremely concerned about his health and still do not have a full understanding of his medical condition,” Blanche said.
Blanche took a shot at the federal Bureau of Prisons, saying the agency “refused” to provide information about Manafort’s condition other than to say he was “safe.”
“We are hopeful he makes a speedy recovery,” Blanche said.
A spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons declined to comment.
Manafort was supposed to appear in court Wednesday in New York in an ongoing state criminal case, but Blanche said he will not make that hearing.
Manafort has been behind bars at the U.S. Penitentiary at Canaan Township near Scranton, Pa., since April.
He was convicted in March of several charges stemming from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and possible coordination with President Trump’s campaign. He’s set to be released on Christmas Day, 2024.
Manafort’s former righthand man in the Trump Campaign, Rick Gates, was sentenced Tuesday to 45 days in prison for crimes that overlapped with his onetime boss’ conviction. Gates’ light sentence was part of plea deal that included him spilling what he knew about Manafort.
Manafort appeared in court last year in a wheelchair, and his lawyers have repeatedly, unsuccessfully asked judges to shorten his sentence over health concerns. In a court filing in January, Manafort’s legal team said he had gout.
While his wrongdoing was not directly linked to his work for the president it was unearthed by Mueller’s investigators over the course of the Trump-Russia probe.
Many of Manafort’s financial crimes stemmed from his shadowy consulting work for Ukraine’s former proKremlin president, who lives in exile in Russia and is accused of embezzling billions of dollars from his home country.
Adding to Manafort’s legal headaches, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. has charged him with 16 counts of mortgage fraud, conspiracy and falsifying business records.
Sources familiar with Vance’s thinking told The News that the DA filed the charges to make sure Manafort faces justice in the event that Trump pardons his federal crimes.