The former chairman of President Trump’s campaign could spend the “rest of his life in prison,” according to the federal judge overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s case against Paul Manafort.
In an order setting bail conditions, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III called Manafort a “person of great wealth who has the financial means and international connections to flee and remain at large, as well as every incentive to do so.”
Manafort was hit with a new indictment from Mueller’s team last month in the Eastern District of Virginia, and pleaded not guilty to 18 charges, including bank fraud and tax evasion, last week.
“Given the nature of the charges against the defendant and the apparent weight of the evidence against him, defendant faces the very real possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison,” wrote Ellis.
As he awaits the trial in Virginia to begin, Manafort will be subject to a “24-hour-a day lock-down” at his home in Alexandria, Va., except for medical necessities and appointments, court appearances and other activities approved by the court, including meeting with his counsel and attending church. Manafort must also obtain permission to do any of these activities two days in advance.
Ellis did not require that Manafort post any assets, but he will have to pay $10 million should he fail to appear in court.
In Virginia, Manafort faces up to 10 years on the tax charges if convicted, and each of the nine bank fraud or bank fraud conspiracy charges carry a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
The 68-year-old political consultant and lobbyist, who joined Trump’s campaign in March 2016, is also facing a handful of separate charges in Washington. Those, which include money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent, were filed against him in an October indictment by a grand jury convened by Mueller’s team — and he has subsequently pleaded not guilty to a new set of charges brought against him late last month.
Manafort’s trial in Virginia will begin July 10, and in Washington on Sept. 17.
His business associate Rick Gates was also charged alongside Manafort in October in Washington and in February in Virginia as part of Mueller’s investigation. However, Gates took a plea deal in Washington and said he would cooperate with Mueller, and saw the charges against him in Virginia dropped as a result.
