Translated material
Mueller asks for more than 24 years in prison for ex-Trump campaign chairman
US Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged Russian interference in the US election, has recommended sentencing Paul Manafort to between 19.5 and 24.5 years in prison, writes Axios . For the former head of the Trump campaign headquarters, this will be a virtual life sentence.
More. Axios refers to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which is considering the Manafort case. According to Mueller, Manafort “behaved as if he was above the law” for more than 10 years, having managed to deceive the government and various financial institutions for millions of dollars during this time. The verdict, Mueller believes, should reflect the seriousness of these crimes.
- We are talking about punishment specifically for financial crimes, the proceedings have nothing to do with elections.
- In Virginia, Manafort is accused of hiding foreign bank accounts, tax fraud, non-payment and laundering.
- In a court in New York, he is separately tried for conspiracy against the United States, laundering, lobbying for the interests of Ukraine (the political consultant represented the interests of Viktor Yanukovych), work as an unregistered foreign agent, etc.
- Last year, Manafort hoped to commute the sentence by agreeing to a deal with the investigation , but Mueller later convicted him of giving false testimony.
- In addition to jail time, Mueller recommended that the former Trump campaign chief be fined between $50,000 and $24 million.
For Manafort, now 69, Mueller's requested jail term would effectively mean life in prison, writes Axios.
Irina Malkova