Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort made a Virginia courtroom appearance Friday in a wheelchair, with his right foot wearing only a sock and raised off the ground.
Manafort’s attorney, Kevin Downing, asked Judge T.S. Ellis for a quick sentencing phase so his client could be moved from Alexandria detention center — where he has experienced “significant [health] issues” because of the “terms of his confinement” — to a Bureau of Prisons facility. A source familiar with Manafort’s condition told CNN it was related to a diet-related inflammation.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort appeared in a wheelchair in a Virginia courtroom, where he learned he will be sentenced next February even while his cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation continues. https://t.co/f6FdPbttWW pic.twitter.com/edO4Fq1fw0
— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) October 20, 2018
During Friday’s courtroom appearance, Judge Ellis set Manafort’s sentencing for February 8. The former Trump campaign official could receive as much as a decade in prison, although the length of his sentence will in some part be determined by his level of cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
While Judge Ellis dismissed the 10 charges the jury failed to reach a verdict on in August during Friday’s hearing, those could be reintroduced “if his cooperation is not successful,” CNN reported. Mueller’s team on Friday told the court they did not have an estimation on when Manafort’s expected cooperation might conclude. (RELATED: ‘Look At Me! Don’t Look Down!’ — Manafort Judge Excoriates Prosecutors In 10 Minute Courtroom Beatdown)
Manafort has been at the Alexandria facility since having his bail revoked in June.