Manafort jailed on tampering charge
Judge: Ex-Trump campaign manager abused court’s trust
WASHINGTON — A judge gave a harsh rebuke to New Britain native Paul Manafort on Friday, ordering him to jail on new charges of witness tampering.
Manafort is charged with attempting to undermine the case against him involving political work for the Russia-friendly government of Ukraine. He and a Russian associate are alleged to have contacted two operatives to lie about lobbying work done in the U.S.
“You have abused the trust placed in you six months ago,’’ U.S. District Court judge Amy Berman Jackson told Manafort, referring to the
agreement through which Manafort avoided prison through house arrest at his Alexandria, Va., condo outside Washington.
Jackson made it clear Manafort could no longer be trusted to not interfere in the prosecution of his case by special counsel Robert Mueller, who brought the charges as part of a wider investigation of the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russian intelligence in the 2016 run for the presidency.
Sending Manafort to prison was “an extraordinarily difficult decision,” Jackson said.
But ultimately “this hearing is not about politics,” she said, according to The Washington Post. “It is not about the conduct of the office of special counsel. It is about the defendant’s conduct. I’m concerned you seem to treat these proceedings as another marketing exercise.”
Manafort, 69, scion of a powerful Republican family in New Britain — his father was mayor from 1965 to 1971 — has made millions as a behind-thescenes GOP operative. He served as Donald Trump’s campaign manager for four months until August 2016 when revelations about his Ukraine work forced him to resign.
There are no clear links between Manafort and the substance of the Mueller investigation — whether Russian agents mounted a campaign to help Trump win the election through release of denigrating information about his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
Manafort faces two separate trials in the Washington area. The primary one in Washington itself revolves around charges that he failed to register as a foreign agent, as required by law, for the work done to support Ukraine’s proRussia president, Viktor Yanukovych, who was driven from power in 2014.
For Manafort, the statements of the two operatives were crucial. Had the lobbying work been confined to Europe, Manafort could escape the charge of failing to register as a foreign agent. The law kicks in only for work done inside the U.S. on behalf of a foreign power.
Manafort is also charged with fraud and money laundering.
Trial is expected to start in September, guaranteeing Manafort will spend at least three months in jail.
The other case in Alexandria is primarily a tax case, charging Manafort with funneling money from foreign bank accounts to pay for expenses such as clothes, automobiles and home renovations. The trial in that case could begin next month.
In an impromptu appearance before reporters Friday just outside the White House, Trump described his one-time campaign chairman as someone who “worked for me for a very short period of time.”
“He worked for me, what, for 49 days or something?” Trump said. It was four months.
Asked about the possibility of pardons for political allies such as former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who is also in Mueller’s crosshairs, Trump said: “I don’t want to talk about that … But look, I do want to see people treated fairly. That‘s what it’s all about.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, DConn., said in an interview that he is “very worried” over the message of resistance Trump may be sending to Manafort and others by dangling the possibility of pardons before them.
“It’s important that law enforcement crack down on witness tampering,” Murphy said. “Hopefully, the president heard the message the judge sent to Manafort today.”