Trump calls Russia investigation a 'collusion witch hoax' outside White House
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Donald Trump denounced the “Witch Hunt Hoax” against him in a flurry of tweets on Wednesday, saying potential impeachment proceedings overlook “the minor fact I never did anything wrong” on the day his ex-campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was sentenced in a second federal hearing to 73 additional months in prison.
The president tweeted thanks to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her opposition to impeachment, which she considers “too divisive”, and took aim at New York’s state’s governor Andrew Cuomo, new attorney-general Letitia James and her predecessor, Eric Schneiderman for issuing subpoenas related to his business dealings.
Manafort was last week given 47 months in jail by a court in Virginia after pleading guilty to bank and tax fraud and this time faces up to 10 years behind bars for conspiracy against the US and obstruction of justice.
On Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced Manafort to more than three and a half additional years in prison. That’s on top of the roughly four-year sentence he received in a separate case in Virginia last week.
The sentence followed a scathing assessment by the judge and a prosecutor of Manafort’s crimes. After Manafort was sentenced in federal court Wednesday, an indictment was unsealed in New York charging him with state crimes, including a residential mortgage fraud scheme.
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Mr Trump said he feels “very badly” for his former campaign chairman following the sentencing.
“On a human basis, it’s a very sad thing," the president said.
Mr Trump also insisted he’s not currently considering a Manafort pardon, saying, “I have not even given it a thought as of this moment.”
The Manafort news arrived as Mr Trump was forced to announce an emergency order grounding a fleet of Boeing planes after a 737 MAX 8 plane was once again involved in a deadly crash.
Additional reporting by AP. Read The Independent's live coverage from Wednesday below:
In case you forgot about this bizarre scandal also surrounding Donald Trump, the lawyer of a day spa founder alleged to be selling access to the US president has claimed she was not actually a member of his exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort — where she was seen in selfies with Mr Trump — but instead was a registered guest.
That's all from today's live coverage of Paul Manafort's second sentencing, fresh indictments and other scandals plaguing Donald Trump's White House. Read below for The Independent's live coverage.
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