Paul Manafort off to jail! WhatsApp trail upends former Trump campaign chief, as Judge cancels house arrest, locks him up over witness tampering allegations
U.S. District Judge, Amy Berman Jackson, has revoked bail for the Mueller probe target, and has sentenced him to await trial in jail
Judge Jackson upholding the prosecution fears he was trying to influence potential witnesses and upbraided Manafort for having ‘abused the trust placed in you six months ago’
Former Trump campaign chief, Paul Manafort was newly indicted on the witness tampering charges last week, but sought to remain on house arrest on Friday morning
He had been indicted three separate times on a raft of charges in Virginia, where his trial will begin on July 25 and in Washington DC which begins Sept 17
Until now, he had been confined to his home in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia, and forced to wear two GPS monitoring devices
Mueller’s team had asked the judge this month to revise Manafort’s terms of his release or revoke it entirely
Manafort had allegedly used WhatsApp to send messages to ‘influence [witness] testimony and to otherwise conceal evidence’
Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort arrives in court. He had his bail revoked during his arraignment on Friday
Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort will await trial behind bars after a federal judge revoked his bail during his arraignment on Friday.
The judge ordered Paul Manafort to jail over charges he tampered with witnesses while out on bail, a major blow for President Trump’s former campaign chairman as he awaits trial on federal conspiracy and money-laundering charges next month.
The former Trump aide who was seeking to remain on house arrest until his trial scheduled to start September 17 in Washington, was facing a third superseding indictment against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on charges of witness tampering
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in favor of prosecutors who for months had been pushing instead, for Manafort to be jailed because he is a flight risk.
‘You have abused the trust placed in you six months ago,’ said Judge Jackson, issuing her ruling.
Jackson said she had ‘struggled’ with the decision but she couldn’t ‘turn a blind eye’ to his conduct.
Manafort who has been confined to his home in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia and forced to wear a GPS monitoring device since last year, had repeatedly requested to end his home confinement in exchange for pledging $10 million in real estate as collateral. –
Judge Jackson turned down the defense appeal.
Manafort is frisked by security personnel before he entered court Friday
Special Counsel Robert Mueller [photo], has hit Manafort with a slew of fresh charges on a new indictment that includes witness tampering. He asked the court to revoke Manafort’s bail
Last week, Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted Manafort on a new charge of witness tampering, and had asked for his bail to be revoked
He has been indicted by Mueller in both Washington and Virginia on a raft of charges including conspiracy against the United States. The charges do not relate to his work on the Trump campaign or involve allegations of Russian election interference.
Manafort, till date has pled not guilty to all the charges. His trial on the related charges in Virginia is set for July 25.
Manafort [right] accompanied by his attorney, was seen going through security screening on his arrival at federal court, in Washington DC on Friday
The presidency of Donald Trump [left], could be irreparably harmed harmed in the aftermath of the Manafort trial [seen right]
A June 8 indictment charged Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort aide and political operative with alleged ties to Russian intelligence, with tampering with witnesses about their past lobbying for Ukraine’s former pro-Russian government.
Manafort’s wife Kathleen Manafort, was seen leaving court without him after the judge revoked his previous bail conditions on charges of witness tampering
The indictment accused Manafort and Kilimnik of attempting to call, text, and send encrypted messages in February to two people from a political discussion group – the so-called Hapsburg Group – that Manafort worked with to promote Ukraine’s interests in a bid to sway their testimony.
The messages – sent on WhatsApp – was an ‘effort to influence [witness] testimony and to otherwise conceal evidence’, the FBI said.
Mueller’s team this month asked the judge to revoke Manafort’s bail, saying his “obstructive” conduct “instills little confidence that restrictions short of detention will assure Manafort’s compliance with the court’s orders and prevent him from committing further crimes.”
Kathleen Manafort is escorted through the crowd of protesters and photographers as she left the Federal Courthouse in Washington
Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in favor of prosecutors who requested Manafort be jailed because he is a flight risk. The former strongman of GOP campaign strategy has been confined to his home in Virginia and forced to wear a GPS monitoring device since last year
Manafort was met by a crowd of protesters holding signs reading ‘lock him up’ as he walked into the Federal Courthouse Friday morning
Manafort has longstanding ties to a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine and a Russian oligarch close to the Kremlin.
The charges against Manafort in Washington include conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to defraud the United States and failing to register as a foreign agent for the pro-Russia Ukrainian government under former President Viktor Yanukovych.
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