A federal judge Tuesday ordered former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to be relocated to a jail in Alexandria, Virginia.
Judge T. S. Ellis III, who is overseeing Mr. Manafort’s Virginia case said the move was necessary so he can more easily communicate with his lawyers.
Mr. Manafort is currently incarcerated to the Northern Neck Jail, which is about two hours away from his Washington, D.C.-based attorneys.
Judge Ellis said Mr. Manafort must be moved to “ensure the defendant has access to his counsel and can adequately prepare his defense.”
The request to relocate Mr. Manafort was one of several motions made last week by his attorneys. They also asked for the trial be moved until the fall and relocated to Roanoke, Virginia, arguing the Northern Virginia jury pool skews too far to the left for Mr. Manafort to receive a fair trial.
Prosecutors have until Friday to respond to these requests.
A Washington, D.C. federal judge put Mr. Manafort in jail last month after special counsel Robert Mueller accused him of tampering with potential witnesses. Prosecutors say Mr. Manafort urged witnesses to lie to investigators about lobbying work he did in Ukraine.
Mr. Manafort faces a host of charges in both Washington and Virginia, including money laundering, tax fraud, bank fraud and lying to investigators. He has pleaded not guilty.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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