New York can't prosecute Paul Manafort after Trump pardon, court rules

Paul Manafort.
(Image credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign chair Paul Manafort won't face a second round of prosecution in New York state after a court affirmed the state and federal charges against him constituted double jeopardy.

Manafort was sentenced to more than seven years in prison in early 2019 after being charged with financial crimes, as well as witness tampering and unregistered lobbying, as a result of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance charged Manafort with pretty much the same financial crimes shortly after his second sentence in what was seemingly an insurance policy against Trump's likely pardon of Manafort. After all, a president cannot pardon someone charged with state crimes.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.