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Sam Levin in San Francisco (now) and Adam Gabbatt in New York (earlier)

Paul Manafort: Trump's ex-campaign chair handed 47-month prison term – as it happened

Paul Manafort is to be sentenced on Thursday afternoon local time.
Paul Manafort is to be sentenced on Thursday afternoon local time. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters

Summary

We’re shutting down our live coverage for the day. Thanks for following along on this busy day. Here are the highlights:

  • Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, was sentenced by a federal judge in Virginia to 47 months in prison for bank and tax fraud uncovered during the special counsel investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election.
  • The sentence was significantly lighter than prosecutors’ recommendations, prompting commentary on inequality in the America criminal justice system.
  • Manafort was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and restitution of just over $24m, and the judge noted that time already served would be subtracted from the 47-month sentence.
  • The judge expressed some sympathy for Manafort during sentencing, saying, “He’s lived an otherwise blameless life.”
  • The House passed a Democratic resolution condemning antisemitism, Islamophobia and other expressions of bigotry after congresswoman Ilhan Omar sparked backlash for her comments about Israel.
  • Omar voted for the resolution and noted it was the first time in US history that Congress passed a measure condemning anti-Muslim bigotry.
  • Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is suing the Trump Organization for unpaid legal fees.
  • Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown announced he is not running for president.
  • Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, said his White House position was “the least enjoyable job I’ve ever had”.

Updated

Judge dismisses Stormy Daniels lawsuit against Trump

A federal judge in Los Angeles has just dismissed a lawsuit brought by porn actor Stormy Daniels to end a hush-money settlement she had with Trump, Reuters reports:

Daniels filed a lawsuit in March 2018 to rescind a nondisclosure agreement that kept her from discussing her alleged 2006 sexual relationship with Trump in the final weeks before the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.

More here:

There’s a lot of attention right now on Judge TS Ellis, who issued a sentence significantly lower than what prosecutors recommended for Paul Manafort. Some useful context:

Representative Ilhan Omar has co-signed a statement praising the anti-hate resolution, noting that this is the first time in US history that Congress has passed a measure condemning anti-Muslim bigotry:

Some reactions to Manafort’s sentencing below. Some are comparing it to the case of Crystal Mason, who was sentenced to five years for casting a ballot in Texas when she didn’t realize she was ineligible.

It’s worth noting that the Paul Manafort sentence of just under four years is significantly lower than what prosecutors recommended:

Here’s the sketch from inside the court, where cameras were not allowed:

The judge expressed some sympathy for Manafort during sentencing, saying, “He’s lived an otherwise blameless life.”

Manafort is facing sentencing in a separate case in Washington on 13 March on two conspiracy charges to which he pleaded guilty last September.

Paul Manafort sentenced to 47 months

Paul Manafort has been sentenced to 47 months in prison.

Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman was found guilty of eight felony crimes last August, including filing false tax returns and bank fraud.

Judge TS Ellis of the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, announced the sentence of Manafort, 69.

In a sentencing memo last month, Robert Mueller’s team said guidelines call for Manafort to get up to 24.5 years in prison. Manafort’s lawyers had asked for a lenient sentence, claiming Manafort is suffering from health problems, including gout. They also claimed he was unfairly targeted by Robert Mueller’s team.

Manafort has been held in the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia, since June 2018. A judge revoked his bail after he allegedly tried to contact witnesses in his trial.

Manafort hid millions of dollars in income from his work in Ukraine, and later lied to banks to obtain millions more.

He is due to be sentenced in a second case in Washington DC, next week, after pleading guilty to illegal lobbying. The two charges in that case carry a minimum of five years in prison each, although Judge Amy Berman Jackson could rule that that sentence runs concurrent to the Virginia prison-term.

Meanwhile, here’s the scene in Denver at the presidential campaign launch of former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, who is competing with several major politics stories for airtime this evening:

More of Manafort’s comments to the judge, via the Washington Post:

The last two years have been the most difficult years for my family and I. To say that I feel humiliated and ashamed would be a gross understatement.

He apparently did not apologize:

Paul Manafort has spoken in court before the judge announces his fate, CNN reports:

Read Lauren Gambino’s full report on the anti-hate resolution that passed the House:

Paul Manafort is expected to address the judge before his sentencing, his attorneys have said. Prosecutors have argued that Manafort is still a wealthy man and that he never gave meaningful help, reports CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz, who is providing updates from court:

Bernie Sanders reiterated his defense of Ilhan Omar in a new interview, saying she engaged in “fair criticism” of the Israeli government:

House passes anti-hate resolution

The House has passed the resolution condemning antisemitism, Islamophobia and other hate speech.

All Democrats, including Rep Ilhan Omar, whose comments about Israel inspired the resolution, voted yes, while 23 Republicans opposed the measure, including GOP conference chair Liz Cheney and several members of the arch-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

More on the Republican votes:

Key House Republicans are now voting no on the anti-hate bill:

Summary

It’s a busy afternoon. Here’s what’s still to come:

Sam Levin here, taking over our live coverage. Paul Manafort is due to be sentenced shortly. Court has just adjourned for a 15-minute break, so stay tuned:

The judge was previously considering Manafort’s acceptance of responsibility:

As we wait for more information on Manafort, news that the Washington Post has petitioned a federal court to open a number of sealed and redacted records from the case against Trump’s former campaign chairman.

From the Post:

At issue are redacted or sealed filings, sentencing memos, hearing transcripts and more than 800 pages of exhibits submitted after the special counsel’s office alleged in November that Manafort voided his cooperation agreement with prosecutors in Washington by lying to them about five subjects over more than 50 hours of interviews before and after his guilty plea.

Prosecutors submitted the materials to substantiate their allegations but did so under seal or with heavy redactions, arguing that information related to uncharged individuals or ongoing criminal investigations, including secret grand jury matters, should not become public.

CNN is reporting that Judge T. S. Ellis has rejected one of Manafort’s requests for a reduced sentence.

Shimon Prokupecz reports that the request “was related to how the judge should view the foreign banking and tax offenses”.

This is from CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz, who is outside court in Virginia. (CNN possibly has reporters inside who are scurrying out with information):

Manafort sentencing hearing begins

Paul Manafort’s sentencing hearing is now under way.

Trump’s former campaign chairman, who has been held in jail since June 2018, arrived in a wheelchair wearing a green jumpsuit, according to CNN.

No laptops or cellphones are allowed in the courtroom today, so we’ll have a little wait before finding out Manafort’s sentence.

Updated

Deb Haaland, the newly-elected congresswoman from New Mexico, has become the first Native American woman to preside over the House from the Speaker’s chair.

Haaland chaired a floor debate on HR1, a Democratic bill on voting rights and campaign finance, in the House this afternoon.

Paul Manafort will learn his fate shortly, with his sentencing hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, due to begin any moment now. Trump’s former campaign chair, who was found guilty of eight felony crimes last August, could face decades in prison. We’ll have the latest as we get it.

Kevin Downing
Paul Manafort’s attorney, Kevin Downing, arrives in court in Alexandria, Virginia. The man behind is not a member of Manafort’s legal team. Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Updated

Donald Trump has been meeting with Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis this afternoon.

According to the Associated Press Trump and Melania Trump “welcomed the prime minister and his wife, Monika Babisova, to the White House with smiles and handshakes”.

The two leaders have much in common.

Babis, like Trump, is a wealthy businessman who rode into office on a nationalist-style campaign.

While Trump is dogged by special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, Babis is facing charges of misusing European Union subsidies for a farm he transferred to relatives, including his son.

Trump wants to strengthen the U.S. border with Mexico. Babis is a vocal opponent of accepting migrants and refugees in his country.

Topics of discussion at their meeting probably will range from trade and Syria to NATO and cybersecurity.

Donald Trump strolling with Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Andrej Babis
Donald Trump strolling with Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis at the White House. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Democrats have released the text of the anti-hate resolution they’ll introduce in the House of Representatives this afternoon. The House is scheduled to debate the sentiment at 3.15pm.

It’s a resolution:

Condemning anti-Semitism as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values and aspirations that define the people of the United States and condemning anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contrary to the values and aspirations of the United States.

In a speech earlier Rep Ted Deutch, a Democrat, ripped into his own party for not making the resolution specifically about anti-semitism. Deutch, who has been outspoken in calling for a single issue resolution, said “anti-semitism is worthy of being taken seriously on its own its worth being singled out”.

The Trump administration plans to “expand the net” of sanctions against Venezuela, the US special representative for the country said on Thursday.

Elliott Abrams told a US Senate subcommittee hearing there would be increased focus on banks continuing to deal with President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

“There will be more sanctions on financial institutions that are carrying out the orders of the Maduro regime,” Abrams said.

This week the US revoked the American visas of senior Venezuelan officials. On Wednesday the government said it had identified efforts by Maduro to work with foreign banks to move and hide money.

The Guardian’s David Smith is at the court where Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, will be sentenced today and sends this:

Two hours before Manafort is due to be sentenced, the scene remains quiet, sunny and chilly outside the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia.

Three TV vans with satellite dishes are parked in the square outside. Reporters, producers and camera operators outnumber members of the public.

A security guard at the court said more people than usual had come in today but there were events taking place in addition to the Manafort hearing so he was unsure who what attending what.

Days like this are a boon for the Cafe Gallery Market across the square, where journalists can deposit electronics for a small fee. Mobile phones and laptops are not allowed inside the court building.

“Something going on at the courthouse today?” asked one cafe patron. “I’m trying to think, what’s in the news, what can it be?”

Manafort was found guilty of eight felony crimes last August, including filing false tax returns and bank fraud.

In the lawsuit – available here – Cohen says the Trump Organization refused to pay $1.9m in legal fees incurred during Robert Mueller’s investigation into him and the subsequent trial.

Cohen says the Trump Org stopped paying his lawyer in June 2018. Cohen says that broke a contractual agreement that attorneys fees accrued in connection with his work representing with the Trump Org would be reimbursed.

“The Trump Organization agreed to indemnify Mr Cohen and to pay attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by Mr Cohen in connection with various matters arising from Mr. Cohen’s work with and on behalf of the Organization,” the complaint says.

“These matters included multiple congressional hearings, Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation, and others.”

Michael Cohen
Cohen arrives to testify to the House intelligence committee yesterday. Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Updated

Michael Cohen suing Trump Organization

Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is suing the Trump Organization for unpaid legal fees.

In a lawsuit filed in a New York court Cohen accuses the Trump Organization of failing to indemnify him for attorney fees and costs he incurred working on the company’s behalf.

Cohen says the Trump Org refused to make payments after it became clear he would cooperate with investigators looking into its work.

Updated

Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown is not running for president

Breaking news: Sherrod Brown is NOT running for president.

Updated

The Guardian is going to run a special live blog for International Women’s Day tomorrow, kicking off with our team in Sydney, followed by London, followed by New York.

That will be in addition to our daily politics live blogs covering events in London and Washington, but there may be some cross-fertilisation here and there. The personal is political, after all, and sometimes inescapably gender-political, as we see from the situation just revealed about journalist Jessikka Aro, who is clearly a woman of courage but is no longer invited to be one of the International Women of Courage.

Updated

Aro tweeted this immortal post a few days ago in response to a presidential chirrup:

Aro tweets mainly in Finnish but frequently in English. Here’s her succinct thought on the development:

Just in time for International Women’s Day tomorrow, the print and online magazine Foreign Policy breaks the following story on its website, headlined: “US Cancels Journalist’s Award Over Her Criticism of Trump”, with the sub-head: “Jessikka Aro was to receive a Women of Courage prize. Then officials read her Twitter feed.

According to the magazine, Aro, a Finnish investigative journalist, has faced down death threats and harassment over her work exposing Russia’s propaganda machine - long before the 2016 US presidential elections. In January, the US State Department took notice, telling Aro she would be honored with the prestigious International Women of Courage Award, to be presented in Washington by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Weeks later, the State Department rescinded the award offer. A State Department spokesperson said it was due to a “regrettable error,” but Aro and US officials familiar with the internal deliberations tell a different story. They say the department revoked her award after US officials went through Aro’s social media posts and found she had also frequently criticized Donald Trump.

“It created a shitstorm of getting her unceremoniously kicked off the list,” said one US diplomatic source familiar with the internal deliberations. “I think it was absolutely the wrong decision on so many levels,” the source said. The decision “had nothing to do with her work.”

Then also according to Foreign Policy, the State Department spokesperson said in an email to the magazine that Aro was “incorrectly notified” that she had been chosen for the award and that it was a mistake that resulted from “a lack of coordination in communications with candidates and our embassies.”

“We regret this error. We admire Ms. Aro’s achievements as a journalist, which were the basis of U.S. Embassy Helsinki’s nomination,” the spokesperson said.

Updated

The general overseeing US forces in the middle-east has said there is “not pressure” on him to meet a “specific date” on withdrawing troops from Syria – despite Trump claiming nearly three months ago that US forces “are coming back now”.

General Joseph Votel, head of the US Central Command, told the House armed services committee this morning:

What is driving the withdrawal of course is our mission, which is the defeat of ISIS and so that is our principal focus and that is making sure that we protect our forces, that we don’t withdraw in a manner that increases the risk to our forces.

Votel added:

“There is not pressure on me to meet a specific date at this particular time.”

In December Trump abruptly announced that the troops in Syria “are all coming back, and they’re coming back now”. That decision was made without consulting Votel, and prompted the resignation of Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

House will vote on resolution to condemn all 'forms of hatred'

The House will vote on a resolution condemning all forms of hatred, not just anti-semitism, Nancy Pelosi said, in response to controversy over Rep Ilhan Omar allegedly using anti-semitic tropes.

There had been conflict in Congress as to whether the resolution should be specific to anti-semitism, which some Democrats said would unfairly single out Omar at a time when Republicans, including the president, have engaged in bigotry.

At a press conference on Thursday Pelosi confirmed the resolution will also condemn “anti-islamophobia and white supremacy”.

Pelosi said it would not mention Omar “because it’s not about her”:

I thought the resolution should be in large the issue to anti-semitism, anti-Islamopocbia, et cetera. Anti-white supremacist. And that it should not mention her name. And that’s what we are working on — something that is one resolution addressing these forms of hatred, not mentioning her name. Because it’s not about her. It’s about these forms of hatred.

Asked about Omar’s comments, made as she criticized lobbying in favor of Israel policies, Pelosi said:

“I don’t think that the congresswoman, perhaps, appreciates the full weight of how it was heard by other people.”

Updated

The House just took a recess until noon, so that vote won’t happen for a while. There’s some debate in the Democratic caucus over the text of the bill – whether it should condemn anti-Semitism specifically, or condemn bigotry in general.

From CNN:

Members from both the Congressional Black Caucus and the younger, progressive wing of the party were furious about the leadership’s gambit. They questioned singling out Omar for condemnation. What about bigotry from Republicans, including President Donald Trump? And why were Democrats so focused on a woman of color, one of just two Muslims in Congress? Could the added scrutiny even put Omar in danger?

Nancy Pelosi is about to hold a press conference – it will be streamed on CSPAN, if you fancy watching – where we could find out more.

The House will vote on a measure “opposing hate” today, majority leader Steny Hoyer has said, in an indirect rebuke to Rep Ilhan Omar.

Hoyer made the announcement in a closed-door meeting on Thursday morning, Politico reported. According to Politico the text of the resolution will be published within the hour.

Omar has been accused of using anti-semitic remarks in her criticism of Israel and lobbying by Israel backed groups.

Here’s our man! Trump offers a stout defense of his repeated payments to Michael Cohen, made after the latter paid two women “hush” money to not talk about alleged affairs with Trump.

Cohen has already been convicted of violating campaign finance laws by paying off actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

So Michael Cohen could have talked himself into trouble with that very definite “no pardon” statement to the House oversight committee last week.

During the hearing Cohen was asked if he had requested a pardon from Donald Trump.

Cohen answered:

I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from Mr Trump.

The problem is that Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, has now admitted that Cohen asked his former lawyer, Stephen Ryan, to “explore” the issue of a pardon with Trump’s legal team early in 2018. That was in the months following the April 2018 raid of Michael Cohen’s home and offices by the FBI, when Cohen’s legal team was much more aligned with Trump’s.

On Wednesday Davis said:

During that time period, he directed his attorney to explore possibilities of a pardon at one point with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as well as other lawyers advising President Trump.

The issue likely comes down to parsing: is asking for an “exploration” of a pardon the same as “asking” for a pardon?

Michael Cohen
Michael Cohen testifies before the House oversight committee on February 27. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Davis and Cohen think not. Davis insisted Cohen’s statement to the House was not a lie, which would be handy for Cohen because, as Trump’s former fixer knows all too well, lying to Congress is a federal offense.

“After July 2, 2018, Mr Cohen authorized me as a new lawyer to say publicly Mr Cohen would never accept a pardon from President Trump even if offered. That continues to be the case,” Davis said.

“His statement at the oversight hearing was true — and consistent with his post-joint defense agreement commitment to tell the truth.”

Summary

•Paul Manafort will be sentenced this afternoon. Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman was found guilty of eight felony crimes last August, including filing false tax returns and bank fraud. Manafort will discover his fate at 3.30pm, and is likely to face a lengthy prison sentence.

•Michael Cohen told his former lawyer to “explore” a potential presidential pardon last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ reported that Lanny Davis, who currently represents Cohen, admitted Cohen had instructed his then attorney to look into a pardon from Trump. Cohen told Congress last week that he had “never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump”.

•It’s looking like a quiet day for Trump, who is mostly in private meetings. At 1.45 p.m the president is welcoming the prime minister of the Czech Republic, before a meeting in the Oval Office. There’s silence so far on Trump’s Twitter feed.

•Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper officially kicks of his campaign today. Hickenlooper is holding a rally in Denver around 5:30 pm ET. The 67-year-old is a moderate Democrat with literal national name recognition, but proved a popular governor.

John Kelly: being Trump's chief of staff was 'least enjoyable job I’ve ever had'

Not long after departing the White House, former chief of staff John Kelly is putting some distance between himself and Donald Trump.

At a question and answer session Wednesday night at Duke University, Kelly said he would have worked for Hillary Clinton if she became president, according to audio of the session obtained by ABC News.

“If Hillary Clinton had called me, I would have done it,” Kelly said.

Kelly described the chief of staff gig as “the least enjoyable job I’ve ever had”, though he also called it “the most important job I’ve ever had”.

Also at the session, Kelly broke with Trump’s disparaging descriptions of migrants seeking to enter the United States, the New York Times reported. “They’re overwhelmingly not criminals – they’re people coming up here for economic” purposes, he said.

He quipped that his best advice to Mick Mulvaney, the new acting chief of staff, was “run for it”, but said on a serious note his successor should tell Trump “what he needs to hear”.

Kelly declined to answer questions about reports that Trump ordered security clearance for his son in law Jared Kushner over national security officials’ objections.

Updated

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