The former Trump campaign chairman, already in prison for federal crimes, faces a raft of state felony charges
The disgraced former chairman of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign has pleased not guilty to mortgage fraud and a raft of other criminal charges.
Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty Thursday in the New York Supreme Court to fraud charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, according to a CNN report. Manafort has been charged with 15 felony counts, including residential mortgage fraud.
Manafort was one of the first people charged in the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller. He was convicted last year in one case and pleaded guilty in another, according to CNN. The former Trump aide is currently serving a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for federal tax fraud, bank fraud and foreign lobbying violations.
The New York charges against Manafort relate to mortgages he received on properties in the state between 2015 and 2017, and involve some of the same loans over which he was convicted on federal charges, according to CNN. The New York case was filed moments after Manafort’s federal sentencing in March. If convicted on the state charges, Manafort could not receive a presidential pardon, which applies only to federal crimes.
Manafort’s attorney, Todd Blanche, said the state charges amount to double jeopardy. In New York state, defendants cannot be tried twice for the same actions unless certain conditions are met, CNN reported. However, the Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that a person can be tried in both state and federal court for the same actions without violating the Constitution’s prohibition against double jeopardy.
