The Manhattan District Attorney’s office charged former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort minutes after a judge issued his final sentence in federal court Wednesday.
The charges include 16 counts of state felonies, which would put Manafort behind bars for up to an additional two decades if convicted.
The charges were filed minutes after Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Manafort to an additional three-and-a-half years in federal prison. The sentence came ontop of a four-year sentence another federal judge imposed on Manafort weeks before.
Paul Manafort is shown in this booking photo in Alexanderia, Virginia, U.S., July 12, 2018. Alexandria Sheriff’s Office/Handout via REUTERS
Manafort was sentenced after conviction in two federal courts on felonies ranging from financial fraud to failing to register as a foreign agent.
The former campaign chairman worked to advance the political interests of Ukranian oligarchs before joining the Trump 2016 campaign for years. The convicted lobbyist also worked to hide millions of dollars from federal tax authorities and engaged in several convoluted money laundering schemes. (RELATED: Paul Manafort Sentenced To 47 Months In Prison In Fraud Case)
The Manhattan district attorney’s office charging of Manafort ensures that he will still have to serve prison time if convicted even if President Donald Trump commuted or pardoned him. Trump has not yet indicated whether he will pardon Manafort or not but has refused to rule out any final decision.
Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort … (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
“No one is beyond the law in New York,” Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance said in a statement, adding that his investigation “yielded serious criminal charges for which the defendant has not been held accountable.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said when asked about whether Trump will rule out a pardon for Mana for that “the president has made his position on that clear, and he’ll make a decision when he is ready.”
