Paul Manafort

Paul John Manafort Jr.
Born:	April 1, 1949 New Britain, Connecticut
Charges:	Tax fraud (5 counts), Bank fraud (2 counts), Failure to file a foreign bank account report (1 count), Conspiracy against the United States, Conspiracy to obstruct justice
Sentence:	Approximately 7.5 years total (47 months E.D. Va. plus 43 additional months D.D.C.)
Facility:	FCI Loretto
Status:	Released / Pardoned

Paul John Manafort Jr. (born April 1, 1949) is an American political consultant and lobbyist. He served as chairman of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. In 2018 he was convicted of financial crimes in two federal courts. A jury in the Eastern District of Virginia found him guilty of eight counts of tax fraud, bank fraud, and failing to report a foreign bank account. Weeks later he pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to two conspiracy counts. The charges arose from his consulting work for political figures in Ukraine. They were uncovered during Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The two cases produced a combined sentence of about seven and a half years. Manafort served at FCI Loretto in Pennsylvania. He was moved to home confinement in May 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. President Trump granted him a full pardon in December 2020.

Background

Paul John Manafort Jr. was born on April 1, 1949, in New Britain, Connecticut. He earned a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

He entered Republican politics in the 1970s. He worked on the 1976 campaign and later on several presidential campaigns. In 1980 he helped found the lobbying firm Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly. The firm represented corporate clients and foreign governments. It became one of the better-known lobbying operations in Washington.

Beginning around 2006, Manafort worked as a political consultant in Ukraine. His main client was Viktor Yanukovych and the Party of Regions. Yanukovych had lost the 2004 presidential election after the Orange Revolution. Manafort helped his campaign. Yanukovych won the presidency in 2010.

Prosecutors later said Manafort earned tens of millions of dollars from this work. They said he hid much of the income from the Internal Revenue Service. The money moved through accounts and entities in Cyprus and other jurisdictions. Yanukovych was removed from power in 2014 and fled to Russia. Manafort's income from Ukraine dropped after that.

Manafort joined Trump's presidential campaign in March 2016. His first task was managing the delegate process for the Republican National Convention. He was promoted to campaign chairman in May 2016. He resigned in August 2016 as reporting on his Ukraine work grew. His name had surfaced in records of payments tied to the Party of Regions.

Virginia Case

In October 2017, the Special Counsel's office indicted Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates. The charges included conspiracy, money laundering, and failing to register as a foreign agent.

The Virginia case went to trial in July and August 2018. It was held in federal court in Alexandria before Judge T.S. Ellis III. The charges centered on tax fraud, bank fraud, and the failure to report foreign bank accounts. Gates had pleaded guilty and testified for the government.

On August 21, 2018, the jury convicted Manafort on eight of eighteen counts. The convictions covered five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of failing to file a report of a foreign bank account. The jury could not agree on the remaining ten counts. Judge Ellis declared a mistrial on those counts.

On March 7, 2019, Judge Ellis sentenced Manafort to 47 months in prison. That term fell well below the federal sentencing guideline range, which ran to nearly 20 years or more. Ellis called the guideline range excessive. He said Manafort had lived "an otherwise blameless life." The remark drew wide commentary.

Washington Case

A second federal case proceeded in the District of Columbia. The charges there included conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The obstruction count involved witness tampering. Rather than face a second trial, Manafort pleaded guilty to both conspiracy counts in September 2018. He agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

The cooperation deal did not hold. In late 2018, prosecutors told the court that Manafort had lied to investigators after signing the agreement. Judge Amy Berman Jackson reviewed the claim. She found that he had breached the deal by making false statements on several subjects.

On March 13, 2019, Judge Jackson sentenced Manafort in the D.C. case. She imposed 73 months. She ran 30 of those months at the same time as the Virginia sentence. The remaining 43 months were added on top. That brought the combined term to roughly seven and a half years. Jackson addressed Manafort's statement of remorse directly. She said that "saying 'I'm sorry I got caught' is not an inspiring plea for leniency."

On the day of the D.C. sentencing, the Manhattan District Attorney announced state charges against Manafort. Those counts covered mortgage fraud and related offenses. State charges cannot be erased by a presidential pardon. A New York judge dismissed the case in December 2019 on double jeopardy grounds.

Incarceration

Manafort was held in jail in Virginia while his cases were pending. After sentencing he was designated to FCI Loretto. That is a low-security federal correctional institution in Loretto, Pennsylvania.

In May 2020, the Bureau of Prisons moved Manafort to home confinement. The transfer was part of a broader effort to reduce prison populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. By that point he had served about two years of his term. He completed the rest of the sentence at home.

Pardon

On December 23, 2020, President Trump granted Manafort a full pardon. The pardon ended his federal convictions and his supervised release. Trump issued it alongside pardons for other associates, including Roger Stone.

The White House statement on the pardon said Manafort had been treated unfairly by prosecutors. It noted that he had already served two years. The pardon covered the federal cases. It did not reach the New York state charges, which a court had already dismissed. It also did not return assets that Manafort had forfeited.

After the pardon, Manafort largely stayed out of public life for a period. In March 2024 there were reports that he might take a role in Trump's 2024 campaign, including work tied to the Republican National Convention and fundraising. In May 2024 Manafort said he would stay on the sidelines and not take a formal role.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why did Paul Manafort go to prison?

Manafort was convicted of financial crimes tied to his consulting work in Ukraine. A Virginia jury found him guilty of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of failing to report a foreign bank account. He also pleaded guilty to two conspiracy counts in Washington, D.C. Prosecutors said he earned tens of millions of dollars advising Viktor Yanukovych and the Party of Regions and hid much of that income from U.S. tax authorities. The crimes were not part of his Trump campaign work. They were uncovered during the Mueller investigation.

Q: How long was Paul Manafort's prison sentence?

The two cases produced a combined sentence of about seven and a half years. In Virginia, Judge T.S. Ellis sentenced him to 47 months. In Washington, D.C., Judge Amy Berman Jackson added 43 months on top of part of the Virginia term. Manafort served roughly two years before being moved to home confinement in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Q: What prison was Paul Manafort held in?

Manafort was designated to FCI Loretto, a low-security federal correctional institution in Loretto, Pennsylvania. He was held in jail in Virginia while his cases were pending. In May 2020 the Bureau of Prisons moved him to home confinement.

Q: Was Paul Manafort pardoned?

Yes. President Trump granted Manafort a full pardon on December 23, 2020. The pardon ended his federal convictions and his supervised release. It did not affect the New York state case, which a court had already dismissed in December 2019.

Q: What was Paul Manafort's role in the Trump campaign?

Manafort joined Trump's 2016 presidential campaign in March 2016 to manage the convention delegate process. He became campaign chairman in May 2016. He resigned in August 2016 as reporting on his Ukraine work grew.

Q: What did Paul Manafort do in Ukraine?

From around 2006 to 2014, Manafort advised Viktor Yanukovych and the Party of Regions in Ukraine. He helped Yanukovych win the 2010 presidential election. Prosecutors said Manafort earned tens of millions of dollars from the work and concealed much of it from the IRS through foreign accounts.