10 things you need to know today: March 8, 2019

Manafort sentenced to 47 months for fraud and tax evasion, Cohen sues the Trump Organization for unpaid legal expenses, and more

Paul Manafort arrives for a hearing at US District Court on June 15, 2018 in Washington, DC.
(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/Getty Images)

1. Manafort sentenced to nearly 4 years for fraud, tax evasion

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis on Thursday sentenced Paul Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chair, to 47 months in prison for financial crimes, relating to his work for Ukrainian politicians, that were uncovered in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference. The sentence was far shorter than the 19 1/2 to 24 years prosecutors sought under federal sentencing guidelines for Manafort's August conviction. In addition to the prison time, Ellis ordered Manafort to pay a $50,000 fine and $24 million in restitution. Critics said the judge let Manafort off too easy, but Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said the sentence was fair, noting, "He's not a terrorist." Manafort faces another sentencing hearing for a separate case on March 13.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.