Today a D.C. federal judge sentenced Paul Manafort to 73 months for witness tampering and foreign lobbying. This sentence comes less than a week after Manafort received just 47 months in a Virginia federal courtroom on charges of tax and bank fraud. Some of the time will be served concurrently to the Virginia sentence, but most will be served consecutively.
Manafort entered the courtroom today in a wheelchair, wearing a suit (last week he was in a prison jumpsuit). Before sentencing, there are reports he made the following statements to Judge Amy Berman Jackson.
“In my previous I told Judge Ellis I was ashamed for my conduct…I want to say to you now that I am sorry for what I have done and for all the activities that have gotten me here today.”
“Let me be very clear, I accept responsibility for the acts that have brought us here today.”
Regardless of the sentence, there is reason to believe that Donald Trump will pardon Manafort. White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders seemed to confirm as much this week saying, “he’ll make a decision when he’s ready.”
If Manafort is pardoned, he certainly won’t be out of the woods. He will still be on the hook for $24 million that he has been ordered to pay in restitution.
And today just minutes after Manafort’s latest sentence was handed down New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. announced Manafort is going to face charges in NY as well.
If the 69-year-old is convicted in NY, that sentence would not be eligible for a pardon.