Paul Manafort could be headed directly to prison after special counsel Robert Mueller’s office claims that the former Trump campaign manager attempted to tamper with witnesses in the ongoing investigation into his potential crimes.
Breaking News: Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, tried to tamper with witnesses in the case against him, prosecutors said https://t.co/JCKoonLPiW
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 5, 2018
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
According to Reuters, citing the 18-page court document, Mueller asked the judge to “revoke or revise Manafort’s pretrial release,” which could send Manafort to jail until his trial.
More via The New York Times:
In court documents, prosecutors working for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, said that Mr. Manafort tried to contact witnesses by phone and through an encrypted messaging program.
Prosecutors said that was a violation of Mr. Manafort’s release while he awaits trial. They asked a federal judge to revise the terms of his release or revoke it entirely, which would send him to jail until trial.
An F.B.I. agent, Brock W. Domin, wrote in court documents that at least one witness reported Mr. Manafort’s contact and said that he appeared to be trying to coach their story about Mr. Manafort’s lobbying practices.
Trump’s former campaign manager is in hot water
Even if Manafort cooperated with the investigation, which he clearly is not, the former head of Donald Trump’s campaign manager was already in hot water.
Of course, Manafort knows this. It’s why he essentially begged Trump for a pardon in return for not flipping on the president.
With Mueller now nailing him for tampering with witnesses, he will likely have no choice but to cooperate now, particularly if jail is his next destination.
For months, Donald Trump and his supporters called for Hillary Clinton to be locked up for crimes she never committed. As it turns out, the people in Trump’s orbit – perhaps even Trump himself – are more likely to face that fate.
On Monday, the man who spent time running Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is on the verge of being locked up.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.