Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison at a hearing in an Alexandria, VA courthouse Thursday for bank and tax fraud.
As a part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian collusion, investigators discovered that Manafort failed to report $16.5 million in income for political consulting work on behalf of Ukraine. They also found he dodged taxes on that income and failed to report foreign lobbying. The crimes were unrelated to his time serving in the Trump campaign.
"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," prosecutors wrote in a court filing. "The sentence here should reflect the seriousness of these crimes, and serve to both deter Manafort and others from engaging in such conduct."
Manafort's attorneys, meanwhile, tried to get him a lighter sentence, citing their client's age and failing health. He was wheeled in to the courthouse Thursday in a wheelchair and is using a cane if he's required to stand.
Manafort will be sentenced again next week in a federal court in Washington. Now we wonder whether President Trump will issue a pardon...
