FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, exits the courtroom after his arraignment in New York Supreme Court in New York, U.S., June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort has been released to serve his prison term at home due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, ABC News reported on Wednesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Manafort, who is serving a 7-1/2 year term on various federal charges stemming from the U.S. special counsel’s Russia investigation into the 2016 election, last month asked to move from a Pennsylvania federal prison to his Virginia home, saying his pre-existing health conditions increased his risk of complications from the highly contagious virus.
Representatives for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lawyers for the 71-year-old had told the bureau in an April letter that he has high blood pressure, liver disease and respiratory ailments.
A number of other high-profile federal inmates have also requested to be released from prison amid the outbreak, which has sickened hundreds of inmates and staff, and led to a number of deaths amid the close quarters.
Reporting by Susan Heavey;m Editing by Steve Orlofsky