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Paul Manafort transferred to Alexandria jail, mugshot released

Posted at 4:55 PM, Jul 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-12 16:55:47-04

Paul Manafort arrived at the jail in Alexandria, Virginia — the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center — Thursday morning, according to a spokesperson for the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office.

A mugshot released by the sheriff’s office shows an unsmiling Manafort with graying hair and light facial stubble four weeks after the former Trump campaign chairman was locked up in a Virginia facility. His mugshot from the previous jail was not available.

Spokesperson Amy Bertsch tells CNN he will likely be held in “protective custody status” — which means he would likely have no interaction with other inmates. While Manafort was not required to wear a jail-issued uniform at Northern Neck Regional Jail where he was being housed until Thursday morning, Bertsch says all inmates at the jail in Alexandria are required to wear the dark green jail jumpsuits used at that facility.

Manafort has not been seen since a DC federal judge revoked his bail and sent him to the regional jail in Warsaw, Virginia, about two hours from DC, for alleged witness tampering. He did not appear at a court hearing for one of his upcoming trials two weeks ago, and his lawyers have indicated he does not want to come to court until he faces a jury.

Paul Manafort

Manafort’s move to Alexandria comes a day after his complaints about being held farther away from the DC area backfired. His attorneys had told courts he was being held in “solitary confinement” and struggled to prepare for his trials with his lawyers because of the 100 miles between him and the legal team.

But after a judge ordered him moved to Alexandria so he could be closer, Manafort protested, citing safety concerns. Prosecutors then said his living situation in the rural Virginia jail was more indulgent than what’s given to other inmates.

Manafort stayed in a larger private chambers that included his own bathroom, shower and workspace, and he could use a phone and laptop with an extension cord. He told people over a recorded phone line from the jail that he was being treated like a VIP and had reviewed all of the evidence before the trial, prosecutors said.

In ordering his transfer to Alexandria, Judge T.S. Ellis wrote, “The professionals at the Alexandria Detention Center are very familiar with housing high-profile defendants including foreign and domestic terrorists, spies and traitors.”

Manafort’s July 25 trial on financial crime allegations will take place at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, about three blocks away from the jail. His second criminal trial, in DC federal court, is set to begin in mid-September and will focus on foreign lobbying-related criminal violations. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.