In a federal order made public Tuesday, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III wrote Paul Manafort is a serious flight risk given the gravity of the charges against him, the real possibility he could face the rest of his life in prison, and the amount of money he has to leave the country.
Ellis put Manafort on 24-hour lockdown, meaning the former Trump campaign chairman only is allowed to leave his Alexandria, VA condo "for medical appointments or emergencies, court appearances and meeting with his defense attorneys."
“The defendant is 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,” Ellis wrote in an order setting the terms of what the judge called “home incarceration” for Manafort, 68, who lives in Alexandria but also has homes in Florida and on Long Island.
“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, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan.
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Manafort’s conditions of release are now subject to approval by two judges, with the result that the once high-flying international consultant is now wearing two bracelets to allow his movements to be tracked by GPS.
Last October, a grand jury in Washington, acting at the request of Mueller’s team, returned an indictment charging Manafort with money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent in connection with his work for Ukraine. Last month, in Alexandria, Mueller’s team obtained a second indictment of Manafort on 18 tax, bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy charges.
Failure to appear in court will cost Manafort $10 million.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Manafort faces up to nearly 20 years in prison in the Washington case and up to about 10 years solely on the tax charges in the Virginia case if convicted, prosecutors said in a court filing last month.
Each of the nine bank fraud or bank fraud conspiracy charges he faces in the Alexandria court carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison, although judges generally follow the guidelines, which typically call for sentences well below the maximum.
Manafort could face ‘rest of life in prison,’ judge says (Politico)