Paul Manafort

Paul John Manafort Jr.
Born:	April 1, 1949 New Britain, Connecticut
Charges:	Tax fraud, Bank fraud, Failure to disclose foreign bank accounts, Conspiracy against the United States, Witness tampering
Sentence:	7.5 years total (47 months Virginia + 43 months additional D.C.)
Facility:	FCI Loretto
Status:	Pardoned (December 2020)

Paul John Manafort Jr. (born April 1, 1949) is an American political consultant and convicted felon who served as chairman of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign before being convicted of financial crimes related to his consulting work for pro-Russian political figures in Ukraine, ultimately receiving a presidential pardon from Trump in December 2020. Manafort, a veteran Republican strategist who had worked on presidential campaigns dating back to Gerald Ford in 1976, became a central figure in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He was convicted in two separate federal cases: a Virginia jury found him guilty of eight counts of tax and bank fraud in August 2018, and he subsequently pleaded guilty in Washington, D.C. to conspiracy charges, receiving a combined sentence of approximately seven and a half years. Manafort served approximately two years of his sentence before being released to home confinement in May 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns, and received a full pardon from President Trump in December 2020.

Summary

Paul Manafort's prosecution represented one of the highest-profile cases arising from the Mueller investigation, though his crimes predated his work for the Trump campaign and involved his consulting activities in Ukraine rather than Russian election interference. His case illustrated how the scrutiny accompanying a special counsel investigation could expose unrelated criminal conduct, and how wealthy political operatives had exploited weaknesses in financial disclosure requirements for years before facing accountability.

The charges against Manafort stemmed from his work as a political consultant in Ukraine, where he advised Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russian Party of Regions from approximately 2006 to 2015. Manafort earned tens of millions of dollars from this work, which he allegedly concealed from U.S. tax authorities by routing payments through offshore accounts and shell companies. He also allegedly failed to register as a foreign agent as required by law and made false statements to banks to obtain loans as his income from Ukraine declined.

Manafort's sentence drew criticism from multiple directions. The 47-month sentence imposed by Judge T.S. Ellis III in Virginia was far below federal guidelines, with the judge controversially stating that Manafort had led an "otherwise blameless life"—a characterization that ignored Manafort's decades of work for dictators and corrupt foreign governments. The additional 43 months imposed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington brought the total to approximately seven and a half years, still below what many observers expected given the scope of his crimes. His pardon by Trump, which came after Manafort had served about two years, erased these convictions entirely.

Background

Early Career

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. Manafort entered politics early, working on the 1976 Republican National Convention and subsequently becoming involved in political consulting.

Manafort co-founded the lobbying firm Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly in 1980, which became one of the most influential Republican lobbying operations in Washington. The firm represented corporate clients and, controversially, foreign governments including those with poor human rights records. Manafort's willingness to work for dictators and authoritarian regimes would become a recurring theme in his career.

Work in Ukraine

Beginning around 2006, Manafort became a political consultant to Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician who had lost the 2004 presidential election after his initial victory was overturned following the Orange Revolution protests. Manafort helped rebrand Yanukovych and his Party of Regions, contributing to Yanukovych's successful 2010 presidential campaign.

Manafort's work for Yanukovych and the Party of Regions earned him tens of millions of dollars over nearly a decade. This income, prosecutors would later allege, was concealed from U.S. tax authorities through a complex web of offshore accounts and shell companies in Cyprus, the Grenadines, and other jurisdictions. Manafort used these hidden funds to finance a lavish lifestyle including expensive real estate, luxury goods, and home improvements.

Manafort's Ukrainian work ended after Yanukovych was ousted in the 2014 Euromaidan revolution and fled to Russia. With his primary source of income gone, Manafort allegedly turned to bank fraud, making false statements to obtain loans secured by his real estate holdings.

Role in Trump Campaign

In March 2016, Manafort joined Donald Trump's presidential campaign, initially to manage the delegate selection process for the Republican National Convention. He was promoted to campaign chairman in May 2016, becoming the senior strategist for the campaign during a critical period. His appointment raised questions given his extensive work for pro-Russian interests in Ukraine.

Manafort resigned from the campaign in August 2016 amid mounting scrutiny of his Ukrainian work, including reports that his name appeared in secret ledgers showing payments from the Party of Regions. His departure did not end the scrutiny; the investigation into Russian election interference would eventually expose his financial crimes.

Indictment, Prosecution, and Sentencing

Mueller Investigation and Indictment

In October 2017, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation resulted in the indictment of Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates on charges including conspiracy against the United States, making false statements, money laundering, and failing to register as foreign agents. Additional charges followed in subsequent months.

The indictment detailed a scheme to hide tens of millions of dollars in income from the IRS by routing payments through foreign accounts and using the hidden funds to maintain a lavish lifestyle. Manafort allegedly spent more than $6 million on properties, $1.4 million on suits, and hundreds of thousands on other luxury items—all funded by unreported income.

Virginia Trial

Manafort's first trial took place in August 2018 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, before Judge T.S. Ellis III. The charges focused on tax fraud, bank fraud, and failure to disclose foreign bank accounts. Gates, who had pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate, testified against his former partner.

On August 21, 2018, the jury convicted Manafort on eight of eighteen counts: five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account. The judge declared a mistrial on the remaining ten counts after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.

On March 7, 2019, Judge Ellis sentenced Manafort to 47 months in prison—far below the 19 to 24 years recommended by federal sentencing guidelines. The judge's statement that Manafort had led an "otherwise blameless life" drew widespread criticism given Manafort's decades of work for foreign dictators and his conviction on serious financial crimes.

Washington, D.C. Case

Rather than face a second trial in Washington, D.C. on charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States and witness tampering, Manafort pleaded guilty in September 2018 and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. However, in November 2018, prosecutors alleged that Manafort had breached his cooperation agreement by lying to investigators, and the judge agreed.

On March 13, 2019, Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Manafort to 73 months in prison, with 30 months to run concurrent with his Virginia sentence and 43 months consecutive—for a total of approximately seven and a half years. Judge Jackson rejected Manafort's expression of remorse as insincere, noting that "saying 'I'm sorry I got caught' is not an inspiring plea for leniency."

New York State Charges

On the same day as his D.C. sentencing, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. announced state charges against Manafort for mortgage fraud, conspiracy, and other offenses. These charges, which could not be affected by a presidential pardon, appeared designed to ensure Manafort would face accountability regardless of any federal clemency. However, in December 2019, a New York judge dismissed the charges on double jeopardy grounds.

Prison Experience

Manafort was initially held at the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Virginia while awaiting trial, then moved to federal prison after his convictions. He was eventually designated to FCI Loretto, a low-security federal correctional institution in Pennsylvania.

In May 2020, Manafort was released from prison to home confinement as part of the Bureau of Prisons' efforts to reduce prison populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Having served approximately two years of his seven-and-a-half-year sentence, Manafort completed the remainder of his sentence at his home.

Presidential Pardon

On December 23, 2020, President Trump granted Manafort a full pardon. The pardon, announced along with pardons for other Trump associates including Roger Stone and Charles Kushner, erased Manafort's federal convictions and ended his supervised release.

The White House statement accompanying the pardon claimed that Manafort had been the victim of "what has been revealed to be combative prosecutors" and that he had already served two years. Critics argued that the pardon represented an abuse of presidential power to benefit a political ally who had refused to cooperate against Trump, while supporters characterized it as correcting prosecutorial overreach.

The pardon did not affect the New York state charges that had been filed against Manafort, though those charges had already been dismissed by a state court. It also did not restore any funds Manafort had been required to forfeit as part of his plea agreement.

Public Statements and Positions

Throughout his prosecution, Manafort maintained that he was being unfairly targeted because of his association with President Trump. He declined to cooperate meaningfully with prosecutors and allegedly lied even after agreeing to a cooperation deal. His refusal to implicate Trump was widely viewed as a bid for a presidential pardon.

After receiving his pardon, Manafort expressed gratitude to President Trump but has largely avoided public comment on his case. His pardon remains controversial, viewed by critics as evidence of corruption in the exercise of clemency power and by supporters as appropriate mercy for someone caught up in an allegedly politically motivated investigation.

Terminology

• FARA: Foreign Agents Registration Act, requiring individuals who lobby on behalf of foreign governments to register with the Justice Department.

• Special Counsel: An attorney appointed by the Attorney General to investigate and potentially prosecute matters that present conflicts of interest for the Justice Department.

• Consecutive Sentence: A prison term that begins after another sentence ends, as opposed to running concurrently.

• Cooperation Agreement: An arrangement where a defendant agrees to provide information to prosecutors in exchange for potential sentencing benefits.

See also

• Michael Cohen
• Roger Stone
• Steve Bannon

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why did Paul Manafort go to prison?

Manafort was convicted of tax fraud, bank fraud, failure to disclose foreign bank accounts, conspiracy against the United States, and witness tampering related to his work as a political consultant in Ukraine. He earned tens of millions of dollars advising Viktor Yanukovych and the pro-Russian Party of Regions from 2006 to 2015, which he allegedly concealed from U.S. tax authorities through offshore accounts and shell companies. The crimes were unrelated to his work for the Trump campaign but were discovered during the Mueller investigation.

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

Manafort received a combined sentence of approximately seven and a half years from two separate cases. In Virginia, he was sentenced to 47 months for tax and bank fraud—far below the 19-24 years recommended by guidelines. In Washington D.C., he received an additional 43 months for conspiracy charges. He served about two years before being released to home confinement in May 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns, and received a full pardon from President Trump in December 2020.

Q: Was Paul Manafort pardoned?

Yes, President Trump granted Manafort a full pardon on December 23, 2020. The pardon erased his federal convictions and ended his supervised release. The White House claimed Manafort had been the victim of "combative prosecutors." Critics argued the pardon was an abuse of presidential power to benefit a political ally who had refused to cooperate against Trump.

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

Manafort joined Trump's presidential campaign in March 2016 to manage the delegate selection process for the Republican National Convention. He was promoted to campaign chairman in May 2016, becoming the senior strategist during a critical period. His appointment raised questions given his extensive work for pro-Russian interests in Ukraine. Manafort resigned in August 2016 amid mounting scrutiny, including reports that his name appeared in secret ledgers showing payments from Ukraine's Party of Regions.

Q: What prison was Paul Manafort in?

Manafort was initially held at the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Virginia while awaiting trial, then moved to federal prison after his convictions. He was eventually designated to FCI Loretto, a low-security federal correctional institution in Pennsylvania. He was released to home confinement in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Q: What did Paul Manafort do in Ukraine?

From approximately 2006 to 2015, Manafort served as a political consultant to Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russian Party of Regions in Ukraine. He helped rebrand Yanukovych and contributed to his successful 2010 presidential campaign. Prosecutors alleged Manafort earned tens of millions of dollars from this work, which he concealed through offshore accounts in Cyprus, the Grenadines, and other jurisdictions. He used these hidden funds to finance a lavish lifestyle including expensive real estate, $1.4 million in suits, and other luxury items.