Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign manager, reached an "agreed-upon bail package" with special counsel Robert Mueller's office allowing him to end his house arrest and GPS monitoring. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Paul Manafort reached an $11 million bail agreement with special counsel Robert Mueller's office allowing him to be released from house arrest and GPS monitoring, court documents said.
Court filings released Thursday showed Manafort's defense attorneys reached an "agreed-upon bail package" with lawyers form Mueller's office after he and his business associate Rick Gates were indicted on charges of money laundering, tax fraud and failure to register as a foreign agent in October.
The deal would require Manafort to forfeit four of his properties in Virginia and Florida, and two in New York if he violates his bail by attempting to travel anywhere outside of those three states or Washington, D.C.
Manafort's legal team said the four properties are worth more than $11 million after existing mortgages are deducted.
"Although for some this might not seem consequential, it must be remembered that Mr. Manafort has been an international political consultant for many years," his attorney, Kevin Downing, said. "He has substantial business and business contacts overseas, and this restriction will undoubtedly affect his ability to secure and retain work from abroad."
Manafort has been on house arrest since his arraignment in October after special counsel prosecutor Andrew Weissmann wrote he and Gates have access to resources making them more at risk of fleeing the country.
Manafort is a subject of Mueller's probe into whether member's of President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with the Russian government to sway the 2016 election.
He resigned as Trump's campaign chairman in August 2016 after The New York Times reported a Ukrainian government corruption probe found Manafort received nearly $13 million off the books from a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party.
U.S. intelligence agencies also investigated intercepted phone calls between Manafort and Russian intelligence agents and he was one of eight people in attendance at a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer.
If U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson approves the bail package, Manafort's home detention will end. Both the prosecution and defense also proposed ending GPS monitoring of Manafort.
Manafort's lawyers said he seeks to travel abroad while the case is pending and he has already surrendered three passports.
The new filings showed his wife, Kathleen Manafort, will also turn over her passport, although she hasn't been charged in the case.
She also offered to guarantee payment of the $10 million bond if her husband chooses to flee.
