Paul Manafort seeks to ditch prison jumpsuit for court appearances

Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former election campaign chairman, has requested a change of outfit prior to appearing Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

Attorneys for Manafort filed a motion Tuesday seeking permission for him to wear a suit in place of prison attire during Friday’s hearing and future proceedings.

“Paul J. Manafort, Jr., through counsel, hereby moves the Court for an order that he be dressed in a suit for the hearing on October 19, 2018, and all subsequent court appearances,” his lawyers wrote.

Manafort, 69, served as Mr. Trump’s presidential election campaign chairman for three months in 2016, and he was subsequently charged by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into matters related to the race.

A jury in Alexandria convicted Manafort in August on 8 of 18 counts of bank and tax fraud. A mistrial was declared on the other ten, however, and U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III set Friday’s hearing to determine the “proper course of action” for potentially moving forward with the deadlocked counts.

Manafort’s wardrobe was referenced repeatedly by federal prosecutors during trial, including a $15,000 ostrich-skin jacket introduced as evidence, and altogether the former lobbyist spent at least $1.3 million clothing as part of a “lavish lifestyle” facilitated in part by his criminal conduct, according to the special counsel’s office.

Manafort had previously been scheduled to stand trial for separate but related charges in Washington, D.C., but he reached a plea agreement with prosecutors last month and pledged to “cooperate fully and truthfully” with the special counsel’s probe.

“It appears in this case that the proper course of action is to resolve the deadlocked counts by either retrial or dismissal, to sentence the defendant and finally to resolve any motions related to defendant’s cooperation,” Judge Ellis ruled last week in setting Friday’s hearing.