Prosecutors in New York lost their chance to file further appeals and bring charges against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort after he was pardoned during a federal case during Trump’s last week in office.
State judges ruled in October that the charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance violated state laws regarding double jeopardy. Vance’s office appealed, but the New York Court of Appeals last week refused to review the lower court’s ruling.
The order, which was provided to NBC News by Manafort’s lawyer on Monday and signed by Chief Justice Janet DiFiore last Thursday, comes weeks after Donald Trump pardoned his ally at the time.
A spokesman for Vance’s office declined to comment.
According to court documents, Manafort was charged in 2019 in connection with a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. The 69-year-old GOP operator is accused of falsifying business records to illegally obtain millions of dollars as part of the year-long mortgage loan scam.
Manafort was also sentenced in 2019 to 47 months for federal fraud and taxation in 2019 in a case by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Trump pardoned Manafort in December for his federal indictment, one of more than 100 acts of pardon Trump granted before leaving office.
“As we have said from the time the district attorney filed charges against Mr. Manafort, this is a case that should never have been brought because the dismissed charge is a clear violation of the law in New York,” he said. Todd Blanche, a Manafort lawyer in a “As the trial court ruled, and the appeals department confirmed that the People’s arguments ‘fall far short’ to cause an exception to double jeopardy that would justify this prosecution.”
He added: “We are delighted that the New York Court of Appeal saw no reason to grant leave to the district attorney to confirm the well-reasoned prior decision of the indictment and the appellate division’s opinion.”
Manafort imposed a sentence of eight to 25 years if convicted in the state case.
