Manafort sentenced to 47 months

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Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, was sentenced to 47 months in prison Thursday by a federal judge in Virginia on tax and bank fraud charges, considerably less than the federal guidelines.

The longtime political operative had faced between 19-and-a-half to 24 years behind bars. Prior to announcing his decision, Judge T.S. Ellis called that range "excessive," and said Manafort "has lived an otherwise blameless life."

"Let me be clear: the guidelines would suggest sentencing is a calculation. It is not. It is a judgment,” Ellis said.

Ellis then went through cases he thought were similar to Manafort's in which defendants received little to no time in prison. “It is important to avoid unwarranted disparities,” he said.

Manafort, 69, wore a green jumpsuit and white long sleeve shirt and was seated in a wheelchair throughout the proceedings. Before his sentence was imposed, he gave a short statement in which he did not apologize and did not seem to express remorse.

He told the court that he has been humiliated, and asked the judge for "compassion."

"I have felt punishment during these proceedings," he said.

llis chided Manafort for his statement.

“I was surprised I did not hear you express regret,” he said.

In August 2018, a federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, convicted Manafort on five felony counts of tax fraud, one count of failure to file a report of foreign bank and financial accounts and two counts of bank fraud. The judge declared a mistrial on the 10 other charges he faced.

Manafort also faces a second sentencing hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., on March 13.

The judge in that case, Amy Berman Jackson, must decide if Manafort, who turns 70 in April, will serve the two sentences at the same time or whether they must be served consecutively.