Manhattan D.A.'s Office Reportedly Preparing Charges Against Paul Manafort
Feb. 22, 2019, 1:27 p.m.
The state charges guard against the possibility that Trump pardons his former campaign chairman for the slew of federal charges for which he's already pled guilty.
Paul Manafort departing Federal District Court after a hearing in April
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance is reportedly ready to mount a criminal case against Paul Manafort, guarding against the possibility that the president pardons his former campaign chairman for the slew of federal charges for which he's already pleaded guilty and been convicted. Presidential pardon power does not extend to state or local crimes.
According to two sources who spoke with Bloomberg, Vance is preparing to bring charges against Manafort for state tax evasion and other local violations, as a sort of "insurance policy" if Trump sets him free. Despite New York's robust double jeopardy laws, Vance is reportedly confident that he has a path to skirting the federal pardon. He's believed to have been investigating the Trump ally since 2017.
In addition to evading New York taxes, Manafort may have violated state laws requiring the keeping of accurate business records, according to the report. Last year, his brownstone in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn was cited by federal prosecutors as a mechanism for laundering millions of dollars in unreported income from Ukraine's pro-Russian party.
Manafort is currently in jail awaiting his sentencing next month, after getting his bail revoked for alleged witness tampering this past summer. In August of 2018, a Virginia jury found Manafort guilty of various financial crimes, including tax evasion by hiding millions of dollars in foreign bank accounts. In September, in a separate trial, Manafort pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy related to his lobbying work in the Ukraine.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly set to issue his sentencing recommendation later this afternoon; he is not expected to recommend leniency, in part because Manafort was found to have repeatedly lied to prosecutors after agreeing to cooperate.
According to his own lawyers, Manafort is suffering from depression, anxiety and “severe gout" behind bars.
He faces up to 19 years in prison.
