Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is resisting being moved from a jail where he is reportedly being treated like a "VIP" to a facility in Alexandria, Virginia, ahead of his upcoming trial.
According to The Washington Post, Manafort — who has been charged with financial and foreign lobbying-related crimes as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe — is being held at the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia. He has his own "self-contained living unit," prosecutors wrote, which has a bathroom, shower, and a bed.
Manafort also has a telephone and computer, along with the files for his case. He is allowed to make as many 15-minute phone calls to his attorneys as he wants. He sends and receives emails by reading and writing them on a laptop his attorneys bring in and out of the jail when they meet.
Manafort had earlier claimed it was difficult to prepare for his trial, slated to begin July 25, because he was nearly 100 miles from Alexandria. But now he is pushing back on a judge's ruling he be moved to Alexandria.
The Post cited a filing by Judge T.S. Ellis, who wrote Manafort's "access to counsel and his ability to prepare for trial trumps his personal comfort."
"It is surprising and confusing when counsel identifies a problem and then opposes the most logical solution to that problem," Ellis wrote. "The dissonance between defendant's motion to continue and motion opposing transfer to the Alexandria Detention Center cannot easily be explained or resolved."
Manafort has told his attorneys in phone calls he is living like a "VIP" in the jail, which includes the aforementioned amenities along with not having to wear an inmate uniform.
He has also requested to have his trial date pushed back to allow him more time to prepare, but officials have balked at that request.
The jail superintendent at Northern Neck said in June that despite Manafort being held in the self-contained unit, he is not receiving special treatment.
"It's a small, fully functional, self-contained cell unit for high-profile inmates," Ted Hull said. "There's no special privileges for him. There's nothing special about him beyond the notoriety of his particular situation."
It has also been reported Manafort is being kept in solitary confinement.
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