Former Trump Campaign Chief Pledges $12 Million To End House Arrest
Paul Manafort, U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, has offered to post $12 million in real estate and life-insurance assets in an effort to end the house arrest order against him, court documents show.
In the November 4 filing, Manafort also offered to limit his travel to New York, Washington, D.C., and Florida before a trial on charges including conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy against the United States, and failing to register as foreign agents of Ukraine's former pro-Russia government.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on November 2 turned down a request by Manafort to release him from home confinement. Rick Gates, an associate of Manafort’s, has also been charged and ordered held under house arrest.
Both pleaded not guilty and deny any wrongdoing.
Bond was preliminarily set at $10 million for Manafort and $5 million for Gates after they surrendered to authorities on October 30. Another bond hearing is set for November 6.
Jackson has suggested a potential trial date of May 7, 2018.
Manafort and Gates are charged with conspiring to defraud the United States in more than a decade of dealings with political forces in Ukraine.
The charges are part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into alleged Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election in Trump's favor and into potential collusion by theTrump campaign.
Manafort faces 12 to 15 years in prison if convicted, while Gates faces 10 to 12 years, although prosecutors said other charges could still be filed.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
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