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WASHINGTON — President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been released from prison to home confinement over fears about the coronavirus.
The move marks a new twist in one of the most high profile cases of the investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia, which sent Manafort and others in Trump’s inner circle to prison.
Manafort was charged with financial crimes and failing to register as a foreign agent in relation to his work as a consultant for the Russia-friendly former president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, but he wasn’t accused of any criminal wrongdoing in direct connection with his role with the Trump campaign.
Manafort, 71, was released from FCI Loretto in central Pennsylvania early Wednesday morning, ABC News cited two sources saying in a report on Wednesday morning. Manafort’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from VICE News.
Manafort and his lawyers have repeatedly complained of his failing health during his trial, sentencing and incarceration. Manafort appeared in court in a wheelchair during the latter days of his 2018 trial, and his attorneys said he suffered from gout and severe depression.
Manafort’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, said in December that Manafort had been hospitalized for reasons that weren’t entirely clear, and that neither his attorney nor family had been able to get updates about what was going on.
His attorneys sent a letter to the Bureau of Prisons last month asking that he be moved to home confinement because he’s at high risk of contracting COVID-19 due to his age and pre-existing conditions.
Manafort had been due for release in 2024.
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Cover: In this June 27, 2019 file photo, Paul Manafort arrives in a New York court. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
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