NEW YORK (AP) —President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman has pleaded not guilty to state mortgage fraud charges in New York City.
Paul Manafort entered the plea at an arraignment Thursday in Manhattan.
Manafort walked with a limp as court officers led him down a public hallway to the courtroom. He wore a blue jail uniform.
The state case could keep Manafort locked up in the event Trump pardons his federal convictions stemming from the Russian probe.
Manafort’s lawyers are expected to challenge the state case on double jeopardy grounds. Prosecutors say their case is solid because it involves state, not federal crimes.
Manafort is serving a 7½-year prison sentence for misleading the U.S. government about foreign lobbying, encouraging witnesses to lie and tax fraud.
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