Paul Manafort Sent to Jail over Alleged Witness Tampering
Peter D'Abrosca
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The former campaign chairmen for President Donald J. Trump has been ordered to jail pending trial for alleged money laundering and failure to register as an agent of a foreign government.
“The harm in this case is harm to the administration of justice and harm to the integrity of the court’s system,” Judge Amy Berman Jackson told Paul Manafort in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Manafort is accused of calling and texting potential witnesses in upcoming trial. He was originally given a $10 million bail and sentenced to house arrest while his charges were pending. Manafort also entered a not guilty plea for witness tampering charges. His trial is set for September.
“I feel badly about a lot of it because I think a lot of it is very unfair,” said Trump.“I feel a little badly about it. They went back 12 years to get things that he did 12 years ago.”
The original charges are unconnected to alleged Russian “collusion”during the 2016 election for which there is still no proof, but Manafort was swept up in the investigation for his connection to the Trump campaign. His alleged wrongdoing took place a decade ago, well before his involvement with Trump.
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