Judge jails ex-Trump campaign chair Manafort ahead of trial
WASHINGTON, DC, USA (AP) — President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman is going to jail.
Paul Manafort was ordered into custody yesterday after a federal judge revoked his house arrest, citing newly filed obstruction of justice charges. The move by US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson came after prosecutors accused Manafort and a long-time associate of witnesses tampering.
Manafort is the first Trump campaign official to be jailed as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. His attorneys have argued that Manafort didn’t do anything wrong and accused prosecutors of conjuring a “sinister plot” out of “innocuous” contacts with witnesses.
Manafort will remain in jail while he awaits two trials over the next few months. He faces several felony charges related to his Ukrainian political work, and money he funneled through offshore accounts.
