New York
President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been released from prison to serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement because of concerns over the novel coronavirus, two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Manafort was released from FCI Loretto in central Pennsylvania early Wednesday morning, the two sources said.
An attorney for Manafort confirmed he had been released to home confinement but declined to comment further. The Bureau of Prisons also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Manafort, 71, has been serving out his more than seven-year sentence for charges related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation in a federal correctional institution in central Pennsylvania. He was found guilty of tax fraud and conspiracy and was sentenced by a federal judge in March 2019. He was slated to be released from prison November 4, 2024. The charges stemmed from his work related to Ukraine between 2006 and 2015.
Manafort joined the Trump campaign in March 2016 as the campaign’s convention manager. He served as Trump’s campaign chairman from May 2016 until he resigned in August 2019.
The decision to move Manafort to home confinement comes after his attorneys wrote a letter to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) last month requesting that he be immediately transferred to home confinement because he is at high risk of contracting COVID-19 because of his age and pre-existing conditions.
While there are no known cases of coronavirus at FCI Loretto, sources have told ABC News that the prison was an old monastery, and due to the open configuration of the prison, would be devastated by the virus.
In December, Manafort was hospitalized for several days due to what sources described as a “cardiac event.” He recovered at a local Pennsylvania hospital under the supervision of correctional officers.—AP
