NEW YORK _ Prosecutors in Manhattan charged Paul Manafort with a laundry list of state crimes minutes after his federal case wrapped up with a hefty prison sentence Wednesday _ an aggressive effort to make sure the disgraced Republican operative faces prison time even if President Donald Trump pardons him.
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. unsealed an indictment on 16 counts of mortgage fraud, conspiracy and falsifying business records relating to a self-enrichment scheme the former Trump campaign chairman allegedly orchestrated with several unnamed co-conspirators between late 2015 and early 2016.
The 11-page indictment specifically lists a SoHo loft Manafort used to own and charges he used that and other properties to illegally obtain millions of dollars in loans.
Trump has broad executive power to pardon whoever he wants for federal crimes, such as the ones Manafort was convicted of in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
However, the president cannot pardon state crimes, like the ones Vance filed against Manafort.
Sources familiar with Vance's thinking told the New York Daily News that the mortgage fraud indictment is meant to ensure Manafort faces justice even in the event of a presidential pardon.
A spokesman for Manafort did not immediately return a request for comment.
Trump has not explicitly said he will pardon Manafort but has frequently praised his former campaign chief for not cooperating with federal authorities.
Rudy Giuliani, the president's top attorney in the Russia investigation, told The News in June that Mueller's inquiry "might get cleaned up" with "presidential pardons" after Manafort was ordered to jail pending trial.
Vance's announcement came just minutes after federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington sentenced Manafort to 43 months in prison, in addition to the 47-month sentence he had already received in a separate criminal case in Virginia for a total of 7 { years behind bars.
The Manhattan DA said the grand jury indictment was the result of an investigation his office started in March 2017 and explicitly noted the crimes strike "at the heart of New York's sovereign interests."
"No one is beyond the law in New York," Vance said in a statement. "I thank our prosecutors for their meticulous investigation, which has yielded serious criminal charges for which the defendant has not been held accountable."
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