“The last two years have been the most difficult years for my family and I,” Manafort told the judge. The hearing came just days before Manafort is set to be sentenced for related conspiracy charges in a case in D.C. federal court. Manafort contends he is mere collateral damage in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election. They said it was Manafort’s Ukrainian backers who chose to pay through opaque bank accounts in Cyprus. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson could add up to 10 years when Manafort is sentenced in Washington.

Source: National Post March 08, 2019 00:22 UTC