Trump’s ex-campaign manager has been jailed for far less than the recommended sentence
Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort has been found guilty of fraud and sentenced to 47 months in jail.
The political consultant was found guilty by a jury in August on eight counts of tax fraud, bank fraud and a foreign bank account. They were unable to reach a verdict on 10 other charges.
It had been recommended by prosecutors (including US Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Mueller) that Manafort serve between 19 and a half and 24 and a half years in prison.
Mueller’s team said: “Manafort acted for more than a decade as if he were above the law, and deprived the federal government and various financial institutions of millions of dollars.
“The sentence here should reflect the seriousness of these crimes, and serve to both deter Manafort and others from engaging in such conduct.”
He was convicted last year after hiding millions of dollars earned through his consulting in Ukraine.
The charges are a result of an inquiry into alleged Russian election meddling during the 2016 US elections, although none of Manafort’s charges relate to collusion with Putin’s regime.
Manafort is due to be sentenced in a week’s time in a case relating to his illegal lobbying.
Mueller is believed to be close to finishing his investigation of Donald Trump which the president has called a ‘witch hunt’ and has lasted almost two years.
