Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chief, will face trial in July on bank fraud charges.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge ramped up the legal pressure Thursday on former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, setting a July 10 trial date here on charges of fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in bank loans.
Manafort, who already faces a separate September trial in Washington related to his work for a pro-Russia political faction in Ukraine, also was ordered to submit to additional electronic monitoring as a condition of his release in Virginia.
“The only reason I’m limiting his freedom is his risk of flight,” U. S. District Judge T. S. Ellis said during Manafort’s first appearance on the 18-count indictment here on charges of bank fraud, tax fraud and failure to register overseas bank accounts.
Manafort entered a plea of not guilty to the charges, through his attorney Kevin Downing.
Under terms of his release in Virginia, Manafort was ordered to wear a second global positioning bracelet, in addition to the one he wears as a condition of his pre-trial release in Washington.
Citing Manafort’s significant wealth, Ellis said the former campaign chairman “manifestly” represented a flight risk in part because of “the substantial period of incarceration” he faced if convicted.
Ellis also imposed stricter conditions of home confinement then those imposed by U. S. District Judge Amy Jackson in Washington.
Ellis said Manafort would only be permitted to leave his Alexandria home to confer with his lawyers, for medical emergencies and once-a-week religious services.
Downing had argued for more time to prepare for trial in the case, at one point quipping his “rosy glasses” preferred a date in November.
“You need to go back to the optometrist,” Ellis shot back.
