A federal court today ordered the pre-trial detention of Donald Trump's former chief of staff Paul Manafort pending trial.
Manafort has been prosecuted since last October for money laundering, tax evasion, bank fraud and illegal lobbying. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and his first trial is set to take place in July in Virginia.
A former close aide to President Trump had so far avoided jail: he remained under house arrest and was required to wear an electronic tracking device. Judge Amy Berman-Jackson decided today to lift those conditions and order his pre-trial detention as he ruled that Manafort and an associate had tried to influence witnesses to testify at his trial.
Berman-Jackson's decision is a victory for Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, who argued that it was necessary to take Manafort to jail so as not to influence witnesses. According to Mueller, in recent months Manafort has repeatedly tried to call or text his former associates.
"I can not close my ears to these accusations," the judge said. "You betrayed the trust we showed you six months ago," he added, according to BuzzFeed.
The US President commented on the decision of the federal court via twitter, writing,
"How heavy is the sentence for Paul Manafort, who represented Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other high-ranking officials and campaigners. "I did not know that Manafort was the leader of the Mafia."
It is noted that Paul Manafort is the only former collaborator of the American president whose pre-trial detention is ordered.
Until today, he was under house arrest in Virginia and was required to wear an electronic tracking bracelet.