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Paul Manafort To Be Sentenced In February; Lawyers Cite His Health Woes In Jail

President Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort (left), has continued cooperating with the Justice Department after his plea agreement.
Alex Brandon
/
AP
President Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort (left), has continued cooperating with the Justice Department after his plea agreement.

President Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, will be sentenced in federal court in Virginia on Feb. 8, a judge ordered on Friday.

Manafort made a brief court appearance in Alexandria, Va., where Judge T.S. Ellis III also dismissed the 10 counts on which a jury was deadlocked in Manafort's trial over bank and tax fraud earlier this year.

Manafort wore a green jail jumpsuit and sat in a wheelchair.

He has a "serious medical condition" related to his diet, a person close to him told NPR. The person asked not to be identified.

But in court, defense lawyer Kevin Downing said Manafort hoped his health situation would improve once Manafort came under custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He is being held in the city of Alexandria's jail.

"There are significant issues with Mr. Manafort's health right now due to the terms of his confinement," Downing said.

Prosecutors declined to offer an estimate of when Manafort's cooperation would end. The judge said Manafort could always get credit for his cooperation after he is sentenced under the legal rules.

"It is true that Mr. Manafort is cooperating and he will receive the benefit of that cooperation, if any," Ellis said.

Manafort was convicted of eight counts in the tax and fraud trial in the Eastern District Court of Virginia earlier this year. The jury foreman from that case attended the hearing on Friday and sat in the audience as a spectator.

Manafort also pleaded guilty to related federal charges in Washington, D.C., in a plea agreement to avoid a trial there and in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors.

He has been meeting with the office of Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Carrie Johnson is a justice correspondent for the Washington Desk.