A US court on Friday sent former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to jail pending trial on charges of money laundering and bank and tax fraud brought against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team probing Russian meddling in 2016 presidential elections.
Manafort, who had been out on bail but under house arrest, was led away from the court in Washington at the end of the hearing. Marshals returned briefly to hand over his wallet, belt and tie to his wife Kathleen Manafort.
He had led President Donald Trump’s campaign for a few months till he was fired for lobbying work for the Ukrainian government. Trump has tried to distance himself from Manafort saying his legal troubles referred to a period before his work for the campaign.
Prosecutors for Mueller had approached the court earlier this month accusing him of witness tampering, working with a long-time associate who is said to have had links to Russian intelligence.
Noting that the court cannot turn a blind eye to accusations of witness tampering, US district judge Amy Berman Jackson, said, “You have abused the trust placed in you six months ago.”
“This isn’t middle school,” she is reported to have told Manafort. “I can’t take your phone.”
{{/usCountry}}“This isn’t middle school,” she is reported to have told Manafort. “I can’t take your phone.”
{{/usCountry}}Mueller’s prosecutor had alleged that Manafort and his associate had made contacts and attempted to influence witnesses, a public relations group in Europe between February and April this year, while under home arrest on a $10 million bond.
Through phone calls and messages on WhatsApp, Manaffort and his associate tried to persuade the group — who were former European officials — to testify that their lobbying work on Manafort’s behalf was confined to Europe and did not extend to the US.
Prosecutors have said Manafort engaged the group in 2012 and paid it 2 million euros till 2013, and it was a part of a secret and undisclosed lobbying activity undertaken by Manafort on behalf of his Ukrainian clients in the US. He is arguing that they lobbied only the European Union.
Mueller’s team charged Manafort in October 2017 and February 2018 with bank fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and for violating lobbying laws.
A close associate Rick Gates, who had also served on the Trump campaign was also charged in the 2017 indictment but he has since pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the investigation under a deal. Manafort, however, is contesting the charges.