Paul Manafort signs deal for book called ‘political prisoner’ after fraud, conspiracy conviction

Paul Manafort signs deal for book called ‘political prisoner’ after fraud, conspiracy conviction

Paul Manafort signs deal for book called ‘Political Prisoner’ where he claims he was thrown into solitary confinement because he ‘refused to turn on Trump’

  • Manafort received a 7-year sentence on tax fraud and conspiracy charges
  • He was first convicted in 2018 but got early release amid coronavirus concerns
  • He had done work for pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine 
  • Manafort pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct justice 
  • Trump pardoned his former campaign chair weeks before leaving office 
  • His work in Ukraine ‘was 100 percent aligned with US interests in the countries he worked in’ according to his publisher
  • ‘Neither was Paul guilty of laundering money, evading taxes, or deliberately deceiving the US government by failing to register as a foreign agent—which he wasn’t,’ says a statement about the book 










Former Donald Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort is writing a new memoir where he brands himself a ‘political prisoner’ and defends his work for a pro-Moscow political party.

Manafort, who was sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted on tax fraud and conspiracy charges, is writing the memoir for Skyhorse Publishing, which is distributed by Simon & Schuster. 

He was released to home confinement in 2020 due to coronavirus concerns. Trump pardoned his former advisor weeks before he left office. 

Using a term favored by Trump, his publisher describes the book as a ‘riveting account of the HOAX that sent a presidential campaign chairman to solitary confinement because he wouldn’t turn against the President of the United States.’

Paul Manafort signs deal for book called ‘political prisoner’ after fraud, conspiracy conviction

Former Donald Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort is writing a memoir whose title calls him a ‘Political Prisoner’

Manafort's memoir comes after he was pardoned by former President Donald Trump

Manafort’s memoir comes after he was pardoned by former President Donald Trump

A jury found Manafort guilty on eight counts of tax and bank fraud, and the former high-flying lobbyist then pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

His prosecution came amid former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. In the process it exposed Manafort’s undisclosed lobbying work for former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych and his pro-Kremlin political party.

Through the course of his two trials, it was revealed how Manafort was able to live a lavish lifestyle. A federal judge ordered him to pay $24.8 million in restitution.

He was ultimately allowed to keep his $15,000 ostrich jacket, though he had to turn over multiple properties in New York. 

The book has an August release date, with a hardcover price set at $32.50.

Manafort was convicted of eight counts of tax and conspiracy charges, and pleaded guilty to two others

Manafort was convicted of eight counts of tax and conspiracy charges, and pleaded guilty to two others

Manafort served as campaign chair for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign

Manafort served as campaign chair for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign

Manafort’s lawyers complained that he was being held in solitary confinement at Northern Neck regional jail in a legal filing in 2018. Mueller’s prosecutors countered in a filing at the time that he ‘is not confined to a cell,’ had ‘his own bathroom and shower facility,’ along with ‘his own personal telephone’ with the ability to use the phone 12 hours a day to help prepare for trial.

His publisher’s statement also defends his work for Yanukovych.    

‘Not only is it untrue that Victor Yanukovych or any of Paul’s clients were “pro-Putin,” it is the opposite of the truth. Paul’s work in Ukraine and throughout his career was 100 percent aligned with US interests in the countries he worked in, sometimes even acting as a back channel for the White House itself.’

The Skyhorse Publishing imprint also published former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s tell-all, Disloyal, along with Robert F. Kennedy’s book, The Real Anthony Fauci.

Trump’s pardon of Manafort came in December 2020, amid other pardons for former political operative Roger Stone and Charles Kushner, the father of son-in-law Jared Kushner. 

‘Neither was Paul guilty of laundering money, evading taxes, or deliberately deceiving the US government by failing to register as a foreign agent—which he wasn’t,’ writes his publisher. ‘These were all politically motivated charges manufactured by the Special Counsel’s team for one reason and one reason only: to get Paul to testify against Donald Trump about a conspiracy that never existed.’

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