Manafort just got indicted on criminal charges Trump can't pardon

Paul Manafort’s day just got a whole lot worse.

After being sentenced to an additional 43 months in federal prison Wednesday afternoon, a grand jury in Manhattan then issued an indictment against Manafort for a litany of charges that Trump cannot pardon him for.

The 16 counts Manafort is now charged with in New York state include:

• Three counts of residential mortgage fraud in the first degree;
• One count of attempted residential mortgage fraud in the first degree;
• Three counts of conspiracy in the fourth degree;
• Eight counts of falsifying business records in the first degree; and
• And one count of scheming to defraud in the first degree.

Vance said the charges stem from an investigation against Manafort that began in March 2017. In a news release, Vance said the charges, “strike at the heart of New York’s sovereign interests, including the integrity of our residential mortgage market.”

“No one is beyond the law in New York,” Vance said.

Should Manafort be convicted of the charges filed against him, they would not be eligible for a pardon from Trump, who can only pardon those charged with federal crimes.

That means Trump — who has yet to rule out a pardon for his former campaign chairman — could not save Manafort from punishment of these crimes, should he be found guilty.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.