Manhattan DA's Charges Against Paul Manafort Dismissed on Double Jeopardy Grounds
The Manhattan DA's office plans to appeal Wiley's decision, spokesman Danny Frost said in a statement Wednesday.
December 18, 2019 at 10:57 AM
2 minute read
Paul Manafort in November 2017.
State criminal charges against Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, were dismissed by a Manhattan Supreme Court justice Wednesday morning.
Justice Maxwell Wiley found that the charges, which involve mortgage fraud and false business records, would put Manafort in double jeopardy. He is already serving a federal prison sentence for fraud.
The Manhattan DA's office plans to appeal Wiley's decision, spokesman Danny Frost said in a statement Wednesday.
The charges, which were announced just after Manafort was sentenced to a total of 7½ years in prison on federal charges, were widely seen as an attempt by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. to pursue a case against Manafort in case Trump issued a pardon for his federal charges. No such pardon has been issued.
A law signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in October closed New York's so-called double jeopardy loophole for persons who've accepted pardons, but it doesn't apply retroactively. Democrats who supported the new law said they were concerned about Trump using pardons to benefit his ex-associates.
Wiley did not discuss the new law in his decision.
Manafort, who is reportedly hospitalized after suffering health issues in prison, did not appear at the hearing.
Manafort's attorney, Todd Blanche of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, said the indictment should never have been brought.
"We have said since the day this indictment was made public that it was politically motivated and violated New York's statutory double jeopardy law … today's decision is a stark reminder that the law and justice should always prevail over politically-motivated actions," Blanche said in a statement.
READ MORE:
Vance's Manafort Indictment Close to the Edge of NY's Double Jeopardy Cliff, Experts Say
Double Jeopardy Worries Loom Over NY State Charges Against Manafort
Cuomo Signs Bill to Curb Trump's Pardon Power by Closing Double Jeopardy Loophole
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