Paul Manafort is being held in a VIP cell at the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia where ex-NFL star Michael Vick and singer Chris Brown also once did time.
A federal judge revoked Manafort's bail Friday over charges of witness tampering while under house arrest.
The jail's online database listed Manafort's name and inmate number and showed he was assigned to the "VIP-1" housing unit in the 500-bed facility.
Superintendent Ted Hull told NBC News that was a mistake: He usually keeps information about high-profile inmates under wraps. And by Monday morning, Manafort's name had vanished from the list.
Hull says he is getting calls from people wondering why Manafort is getting special treatment but insists that is not the case.
"I've probably gotten a dozen calls — people saying, 'I want to know why he's in VIP!'" the jail chief said.
"All that is is a name and number," Hull said. "It's a small, fully functional, self-contained cell unit for high-profile inmates."
A regular unit would have between eight and 16 cells with a common shower and dayroom, Hull said. But the VIP unit has everything in one place for a single inmate.
Hull would not discuss what kind of clothing Manafort is allowed to wear or any details of his routines. He wouldn't even discuss an ordinary inmate's routines and restrictions, because he didn't want that information attributed to Manafort, he said.
"There's no special privileges for him," he said. "There's nothing special about him beyond the notoriety of his particular situation."
Jail records show Manafort was booked into the “VIP” section of the jail at 8:22 p.m. Friday. The Northern Neck jail roster indicates more than 600 inmates are currently in custody. Inmates are permitted one personal visit per week. Manafort, a former campaign chairman for President Trump, was assigned Fridays from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. as his visitation window. Visitors may only speak to inmates through a glass partition, called “noncontact” visits, for a maximum of 30 minutes.
Inmates at Northern Neck, as at most jails, cannot receive calls, but they can make collect or prepaid calls between 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m., according to jail rules. Unless the calls are to an attorney, they are recorded. Attorneys may visit with clients remotely by video visitation on their computers or smartphones, the jail’s website says.
The Post reports four people have died in custody at Northern Neck since 2011, and one case in particular resulted in a lawsuit filed by and settled in favor of the prisoner's family.
... [A] 32-year-old female inmate who suffered a stroke in 2016 was denied medical care for more than 10 hours and was declared brain dead later that night. The woman’s family sued six jail officials for wrongful death, also alleging that the jail tried to cover up its actions. In November, the defendants paid the woman’s two juvenile daughters a $375,000 settlement, court records show.
Virginia jail boss says 'no special privileges' for Paul Manafort (NBC News)
Manafort checks into VIP section at Virginia jail where Chris Brown, Michael Vick also did time (WaPo)