Paul Manafort reportedly to face solitary confinement at Rikers Island

Paul Manafort's second round of state charges will reportedly land him back in New York City.

The former Trump campaign chair will soon be transferred to the notorious Rikers Island jail and be held in solitary confinement "for his own protection," sources have told both The New York Times and Fox News. CNBC confirmed the report with Manafort's defense lawyer Jay Nanavati on Tuesday.

Manafort was sentenced in March to a total of 73 months in prison, or about 7 and half years, for a combination of bank and tax fraud, witness tampering, and unregistered lobbying charges. New York City District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. then immediately levied 16 new charges, including mortgage fraud, on Manafort. President Trump had teased a pardon for the federal crimes, but he could not do the same for the state charges.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Manafort has been held for months in a Pennsylvania minimum security prison. But in anticipation of his arraignment on the new charges later this month, a New York state judge has reportedly ordered Manafort's transfer at Vance's request, Fox News says. Manafort could be moved as early as this week, though his lawyers could argue to have him held at a federal jail upstate, the Times reports.

Rikers Island is famous for its mismanagement and violent conditions. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has pledged to close the jail in the coming years.