ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) – Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was moved Thursday from a jail in rural Virginia to a detention center just outside Washington, D.C. to await the start of the first of two criminal trials he faces in coming weeks.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III ordered that Manafort, who is charged with money laundering, bank fraud and other violations stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, be moved to a facility in Alexandria, Virginia so he could better communicate with his lawyers.
Manafort has been held in rural Warsaw, Virginia since another federal judge his bail and house arrest last month when new charges were filed claiming he tried to sway the testimony of two witnesses in Mueller's probe.
The move, which reportedly occured just after midnight, came just hours after Mueller filed documents revealing Manafort believed he was getting “VIP treatment” in jail, with access to his email, cellphone, a private space and a private bathroom.
In a mug shot released Thursday, Manafort appears to be wearing the standard-issue dark green jumpsuit given to detainees at Alexandria.
This is a stark contrast to the more liberal conditions Manafort experienced at the facility in Warsaw, Virginia, according to claims made by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in a filing made Wednesday.
Mueller claimed Manafort was given preferential treatment at Northern Neck Regional Jail, was provided access to a private bathroom and shower, given a personal phone and computer and could use a workspace to prepare for meetings with his attorneys.
Also on Thursday the D.C. Circuit denied Manafort’s bid for pretrial release pending appeal of his detention order, which means Manafort will remain behind bars for now.
Manafort, according to the unsigned order, “has not shown that immediate relief before resolution of his expedited appeal is warranted.”
Manafort appealed his detention order on June 25 after U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C., revoked his pretrial release 10 days earlier.
Jackson revoked his bond after a grand jury found probable cause to indict Manafort for obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice for allegedly trying to influence the testimony of two potential witnesses in that case.
Britain Eakin contributed to this report.
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