Washington, March 9: It seems US President Donald Trump's tryst with legal controversies is relentless. Amid the episode involving Michael Cohen, the president's former attorney, his ex-campaigner Paul Manafort has been handed a 47-month imprisonment on charges of fraud.
Manafort was convicted last year of concealing millions of dollars of income earned from his political consulting in Ukraine. The charges came from an inquiry into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election in the US. Manafort had resigned as Trump's campaign chairman in August 2016 after he came under fire over his past lobbying work for pro-Russian oligarchs of Ukraine which was at odds with Trump's claims of being free from moneyed interests, along with a sloppy nature of the Republican National Convention. He was succeeded by Kellyanne Conway who is currently the counsellor to President Trump. The 69-year-old Manafort's sentence of 47 months was though shorter than that recommended by the US Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The latter is thought to be wrapping up his almost two-year-long probe that has rattled the Trump administration. The man is also due to be sentenced in another case next week related to illegal lobbying. Manafort has been one of the top political Republican gurus who advised as many as four American presidents, including Trump, besides other foreign leaders.