The judge in the Paul Manfort case wondered Monday if prosecutors are going too easy on the conditions for his release. U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson said that she felt that Manafort and co-defendant Richard Gates might face stiffer conditions, according to POLITICO. It wasn’t enough to have them pay money for failing to show up in court.
“There’s not really much assurance in that,” she said. Jackson voiced concerns last week and at Monday’s bond hearing that the defendants could be a flight risk.
Prosecutor Greg Andres said they were close to reaching a deal with the defense. He said that they were willing to stop GPS monitoring since the defendants had relinquished their passports, and put up a big enough bond. ($10 million for Manafort, $5 million for Gates.)
Jackson said her first instinct was to have Manafort and Gates remain on GPS monitoring as well as face a curfew and restricted travel to airports, but she said she was keeping an “open mind” about this, according to the outlet.
Court records obtained by Law Newz show that in Monday’s bond hearing, Jackson didn’t reject the defendants’ requests to modify the conditions of their release, but took it “under advisement.” Manafort remains in the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP), while co-defendant Richard Gates remains on a personal recognizance bond.
Manafort, a former Trump campaign manager, filed Saturday to be released from home confinement, offering $12.5 million worth of assets for bond: his Trump Tower apartment, insurance policies, et cetera. Prosecutors shot back Sunday, claiming the defendant overvalued some of those properties.
The defendants are accused of working as unregistered agents of the Ukrainian government, among other charges, such as money laundering. The indictment spun out of a special counsel’s investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded in Russian interference in the 2016 election. The allegations against Manafort and Gates have nothing to do with the alleged ties between the campaign and Moscow.
[Screengrab via CNN]
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