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What is Paul Manafort's net worth? Donald Trump pardons former campaign chairman jailed for bank and tax fraud

He spent close to two years in prison for bank and tax fraud, illegal foreign lobbying and witness tampering conspiracies before being released due to the Covid-19 pandemic

On Wednesday, December 23, President Donald Trump announced 26 new pardons, which included longtime ally Roger Stone, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and White House senior adviser and his son-in-law Jared Kushner's father, Charles Kushner.

Manafort and Stone are two of the most high-profile and widely condemned former advisers of the POTUS, both of whom were accused by special counsel Robert Mueller, went to trial and were convicted by juries of multiple crimes.

As CNN reports, Manafort, who is serving home confinement, had admitted to his crimes and initially agreed to cooperate with Mueller. But then he lied to prosecutors. He spent close to two years in prison for bank and tax fraud, illegal foreign lobbying and witness tampering conspiracies before being released due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Who is Paul Manafort?

According to The Sun, Manafort had been under investigation by various federal agencies in the US. He was a person of interest during the FBI probe looking into possible interference in the 2016 presidential election by the Russian government. The charges against him related to his consulting work for the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine. According to the report, he surrendered to the FBI on October 30, 2017.

The charges against him included: conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, failure to file reports of a foreign bank and financial accounts and being an unregistered agent of foreign principal. In 2018, he was found guilty of five tax fraud charges, one charge of hiding foreign bank accounts and two counts of bank fraud. 

What is Paul Manafort’s net worth?

In 2017, Politico reported that Manafort, who was facing a federal indictment on charges of money laundering and hiding his work as a foreign agent at that time, had claimed to be worth $28 million, according to court filings by prosecutors. "Although Manafort has provided the government with a spreadsheet listing his total assets at approximately $28 million, the government has yet to substantiate Manafort’s net worth. Indeed, we continue to have questions about that sum," prosecutors Andrew Weissman, Greg Andres and Kyle Freeny wrote.

"At present, Manafort has not yet substantiated his bail package in a manner sufficient to warrant a modification of the conditions of his release." According to a 2017 NBC News report, Manafort owned properties in Florida and Virginia, including a Palm Beach Gardens mansion in Florida he purchased in 2007 for $1.5 million. In 2018, Forbes reported that he had signed a deed in his Virginia prison that transferred his five-bedroom mansion in Florida’s Palm Beach Gardens to his wife for $10.

After the pardon, in a statement communicated by his lawyer, Manafort expressed his gratitude to Trump, reports Reuters. “Mr President, my family & I humbly thank you for the Presidential Pardon you bestowed on me. Words cannot fully convey how grateful we are,” he said.

On Tuesday, December 22, Trump granted full pardons to 15 people and commuted all or part of the sentences of five others. The names include George Papadopoulos, a former campaign aide who pleaded guilty to lying to federal officials as part of the Russia investigation in the context of the 2016 presidential election, and Alex van der Zwaan, who pleaded guilty to a similar charge in the Russia investigation and is the son-in-law of the Russian billionaire German Khan.

Twitter reactions

Deputy DC Bureau Chief, Vice News, Todd Zwillich commented, “Has a single elected Republican besides @BenSasse said a word about these pardons? The GOPs on the Intel committee that pegged Manafort as a key player in a 'grave counterintelligence threat?' The ones Stone lied to under oath? Anyone?”

Politician Adam Schiff tweeted, “During the Mueller investigation, Trump’s lawyer floated a pardon to Manafort. Manafort withdrew his cooperation with prosecutors, lied, was convicted, and then Trump praised him for not 'ratting'. Trump’s pardon now completes the corrupt scheme. Lawless until the bitter end.”

Author Susan Hennessey wrote: “In pardoning Stone and Manafort, Trump is holding up his end of agreements to obstruct justice and completing a crime. If the Mueller Report had stated that conclusion clearly, we might be in a different world today.”

These remarks were made by the Internet and individual organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet