Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is asking to be released from prison over the possibility of contracting the coronavirus.
Manafort’s lawyer, Kevin Downing, sent a letter to the federal Bureau of Prisons on Monday requesting his client be granted a transfer from federal prison to home confinement to serve the remainder of his seven-and-a-half year sentence.
“Mr. Manafort is at a high risk of contracting COVID-19 at FCI Loretto due to his age and preexisting health conditions, and it is imperative that Mr. Manafort be transferred to home confinement immediately in order to minimize the likelihood of Mr. Manafort contracting or spreading the potentially fatal disease,” Downing wrote, according to Poiltico.
The letter also noted that Attorney General Wiliam Barr has sought to grant model inmates without a history of violent offenses or those at risk of serious illness permission to transfer to home confinement in an attempt to avoid spreading the coronavirus around federal prisons. Inmates would have to spend two weeks in solitary confinement before being released to prevent the spread of the virus in the communities they are reentering.
Downing noted that Manafort has been in solitary confinement since March 30, which makes him eligible to be released.
The lawyer also explained that Manafort’s health is a cause for concern. At 71 years old with heart problems, the president’s former campaign manager is at risk for a severe bout with the virus should he contract it. He also suffers from “high blood pressure, liver disease, and respiratory ailments.”
“These medications as well as Mr. Manafort’s health history make plain that Mr. Manafort is at a significantly higher risk for serious illness or death,” the letter continued. “Indeed, CDC guidelines provide that individuals who are 65 years and older as well as those with serious heart conditions and respiratory illnesses are at a higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, including death.”
Manafort was convicted on five counts of tax fraud, one count of hiding foreign bank accounts, and two counts of bank fraud. The charges stemmed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether the Trump campaign sought out Russia’s help to win the 2016 presidential election.
Other notable inmates, including Michael Cohen and Michael Avenatti, have also sought prison releases amid the pandemic. Avenatti’s request was granted earlier this week.
