T. S. Ellis III

Last updated

T. S. Ellis III
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
In office
April 1, 2007 –March 15, 2024

In March 2018, Ellis assumed control over a set of criminal charges against Paul Manafort, former chair of the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign. The 18 counts filed in Virginia federal court include tax evasion and bank fraud, and are in addition to earlier charges filed in a Washington, D.C. court. [14] The government alleges that Manafort, with assistance from his associate Rick Gates, laundered over $30 million through offshore bank accounts between approximately 2006 and 2015. [15] On March 13 Ellis ordered Manafort held on $10 million bond and home confinement with GPS monitoring. [16] He set a trial date of July 10, 2018. [17]

Manafort challenged Special Counsel Robert Mueller's authority to bring these charges. In a May 4 hearing on the challenge, Ellis repeatedly suggested that the prosecutors were not really interested in prosecuting the charges but had filed them to exert pressure on Manafort to cooperate with the special counsel's investigation into Trump. Ellis said he would rule on Manafort's challenge at a later date. [18] On June 26, 2018, Ellis issued an opinion stating that "upon further review" the Mueller investigation had acted within its authority, clearing the way for Manafort's trial to proceed. [19]

On July 31, 2018 a jury was seated, both sides made their opening statements, and the first prosecution witness was called. [20] In subsequent days prosecutors continued to present their case as Ellis repeatedly urged them to proceed expeditiously. [21] Nancy Gertner, a former federal judge, described Ellis's behavior - repeatedly interrupting and arguing with prosecutors in the presence of the jury - as "decidedly unusual" and appearing to show bias against the prosecution. [22] On the other hand, a legal analyst and former prosecutor remarked that Ellis's conduct was typical of a "move along" judge—jurists who tightly enforce courtroom rules and thereby insulate a case from appeal in the event of a conviction. [23] On the eighth day of the trial Ellis apologized for one of his comments, saying “It appears I may well have been wrong. But like any human, and this robe doesn’t make me anything other than human, I sometimes make mistakes." [24]

While the jury was deliberating, the judge revealed that he had been threatened and was being guarded by deputy U.S. marshals. [25]

On August 21, the jury found Manafort guilty on eight of the 18 charges, while the judge declared a mistrial on the other 10. He was convicted on five counts of tax fraud, one of the four counts of failing to disclose his foreign bank accounts, and two counts of bank fraud. The jury was hung on three of the four counts of failing to disclose, as well as five counts of bank fraud, four of them related to the Federal Savings Bank of Chicago, whose CEO had been seeking a position in the administration. [26]

On March 7, 2019, Ellis sentenced Manafort to 47 months in federal prison, citing excessive sentencing guidelines that called for up to 25 years in prison and said that Manafort had "lived an otherwise blameless life." [27] In Manafort's related criminal proceedings in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Manafort received an additional 43-month sentence. [28] [29] [30]

Others

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Stone</span> American political consultant and lobbyist (born 1952)

Roger Jason Stone is an American conservative political consultant and lobbyist. Stone is most remembered for the Robert Mueller special counsel investigation, and his involvement with and connections to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as a political consultant for the campaign of 45th U.S. president Donald Trump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reggie Walton</span> American judge (born 1949)

Reggie Barnett Walton is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He is a former presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Manafort</span> American political consultant (born 1949)

Paul John Manafort Jr. is an American lobbyist, political consultant, attorney, and convicted felon. A long-time Republican Party campaign consultant, he chaired the Trump presidential campaign from June to August 2016. Manafort served as an adviser to the U.S. presidential campaigns of Republicans Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bob Dole. In 1980, he co-founded the Washington, D.C.–based lobbying firm Black, Manafort & Stone, along with principals Charles R. Black Jr. and Roger Stone, joined by Peter G. Kelly in 1984. Manafort often lobbied on behalf of foreign leaders such as former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, former dictator of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, former dictator of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko, and Angolan guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi. Lobbying to serve the interests of foreign governments requires registration with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA); on June 27, 2017, he retroactively registered as a foreign agent.

A citizen's right to a trial by jury is a central feature of the United States Constitution. It is considered a fundamental principle of the American legal system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Berman Jackson</span> American judge (born 1954)

Amy Sauber Berman Jackson is an American attorney and jurist serving as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Kevin Mitchel Downing is an American lawyer. He has previously worked for the United States Department of Justice Tax Division and as a partner for the law firm of Miller & Chevalier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dabney L. Friedrich</span> American judge (born 1967)

Dabney Langhorne Friedrich is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States district court judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She previously served as a member of the United States Sentencing Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mueller special counsel investigation</span> US investigation into Russian interference in US elections

The Robert Mueller special counsel investigation was an investigation into 45th U.S. president Donald Trump regarding Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and was conducted by special prosecutor Robert Mueller from May 2017 to March 2019. It was also called the Russia investigation, the Mueller probe, and the Mueller investigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Gates (political consultant)</span> American political consultant, lobbyist, and convicted felon (born 1972)

Richard William Gates III is an American former political consultant and lobbyist who pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States for making false statements in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. He is a longtime business associate of Paul Manafort and served as deputy to Manafort when the latter was campaign manager of the Donald Trump presidential campaign in 2016, and after under Kellyanne Conway.

Alex Rolf van der Zwaan is a Belgian-born Dutch attorney formerly with the London branch of New York–based international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Konstantin Viktorovich Kilimnik is a Russian–Ukrainian political consultant. In the United States, he became a person of interest in multiple investigations regarding Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, particularly due to his ties with Paul Manafort, an American political consultant, who was a campaign chairman for Donald Trump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (January–June 2018)</span>

This is a timeline of major events in first half of 2018 related to the investigations into links between associates of Donald Trump and Russian officials and spies that are suspected of being inappropriate, relating to Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections before and after July 2016 up until election day November 8, the transition, and the first and second halves of 2017, but precedes the second half of 2018, the first and second halves of 2019, 2020, and 2021. These events are related to, but distinct from, Russian interference in the 2018 United States elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trials of Paul Manafort</span>

The two criminal trials of Paul Manafort were the first cases brought to trial by the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Manafort served as campaign chair for the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign from June 20 to August 19, 2016. In July 2017, the FBI conducted a raid of Manafort's home, authorized by search warrant under charges of interference in the 2016 election. Manafort and his business assistant Rick Gates were both indicted and arrested in October 2017 for charges of conspiracy against the United States, making false statements, money laundering, and failing to register as foreign agents for Ukraine. Gates entered a plea bargain in February 2018.

The 2017-2019 Special Counsel investigation involved multiple legal teams, specifically the attorneys, supervised by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, taking part in the investigation; the team representing President Trump in his personal capacity; and the team representing the White House as an institution separate from the President.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (January–June 2019)</span>

This is a timeline of events in the first half of 2019 related to investigations into the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, both before and after July 2016, until November 8, 2016, the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, and followed by the second half of 2019, 2020, and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal charges brought in the Mueller special counsel investigation</span> People and organizations charged

The Special Counsel investigation was a United States law enforcement and counterintelligence investigation of the Russian government's efforts to interfere in United States politics and any possible involvement by members of the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. It was primarily focused on the 2016 presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (July–December 2018)</span>

This is a timeline of major events in second half of 2018 related to the investigations into the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections before and after July 2016 up until election day November 8, and the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, and the first half of 2018, but precedes that of the first and second halves of 2019, 2020, and 2021. These events are related to, but distinct from, Russian interference in the 2018 United States elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (2020–2022)</span>

This is a timeline of events from 2020 to 2022 related to investigations into the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, both before and after July 2016, until November 8, 2016, election day, the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, and the first and second halves of 2019.

<i>Where Law Ends</i> 2020 non-fiction book by Andrew Weissmann

Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation is a best-selling non-fiction book written by Andrew Weissmann, a former Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA), and later a General Counsel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 2011 to 2013. Released by Random House on September 29, 2020, the widely read book gives an insider's view into Department of Justice special counsel Robert Mueller's highly controversial investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (July–December 2019)</span>

This is a timeline of major events in second half of 2019 related to the investigations into the myriad links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies that are suspected of being inappropriate, relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections before and after July 2016 up until election day November 8, and the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, and the first half of 2019, but precedes that of 2020 and 2021.

References

  1. ↑ Lynch, Sarah N. (May 4, 2018). "U.S. judge says Mueller should not have 'unfettered power' in Russia probe". Reuters. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  2. ↑ Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments: Hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundredth Congress, First Session, Part 3. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1989. p. 229.
  3. ↑ "U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III". Program in Law and Public Affairs | Princeton University. February 19, 2014. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  4. ↑ "T.S. Ellis, III" (PDF). Duke University School of Law. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  5. ↑ Thomas, John Charles. "One Journey in a Century" (PDF). Hunton & Williams Centennial Directory. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Ellis, Thomas Selby III". Federal Judicial Center.
  7. ↑ Candiotti, Susan (October 4, 2002). "Walker Lindh sentenced to 20 years". CNN. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Recent Case: District Court Holds That Recipients of Government Leaks Who Disclose Information "Related to the National Defense" May Be Prosecuted Under the Espionage Act" (PDF). Harvard Law Review . 120: 821. 2007. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  9. ↑ "United States v Steven J Rosen, Keith Weissman : Memorandum Opinion" (PDF). Fas.org. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Reporter's Transcript of Motions Hearing, USA v. Rosen". April 16, 2007. Archived from the original on May 13, 2007. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  11. ↑ Johnathan M. Lamb, Pepperdine Law Review, Vol. 36, p. 213 (2008), The Muted Rise of the Silent Witness Rule in National Security Litigation, ssrn.com, SSRN   1125459 {{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ "Americas | CIA 'torture' lawsuit thrown out". BBC News. May 18, 2006. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  13. ↑ Day in Court Denied for Victim of CIA Kidnapping and Rendition, Khaled El-Masri Archived May 26, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ Barrett, Devlin; Hsu, Spencer S. (February 22, 2018). "Special counsel Mueller files new charges in Manafort, Gates case". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  15. ↑ Apuzzo, Matt; Schmidt, Michael S. (February 22, 2018). "Mueller Files New Fraud Charges Against Paul Manafort". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  16. ↑ Singman, Brooke; Gibson, Jake (March 13, 2018). "Manafort 'faces very real possibility' of life in prison, court order says". Fox News. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  17. ↑ Caroline Kelly; Katelyn Polantz (March 8, 2018). "Manafort trial set to begin July 10". CNN. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  18. ↑ Polantz, Katelyn (May 5, 2018). "Judge in Manafort case says Mueller's aim is to hurt Trump". CNN. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  19. ↑ Lafraniere, Sharon (June 26, 2018). "Manafort Trial Is to Go Forward, but Judge Warns Mueller to Stay Within Authority". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  20. ↑ Johnson, Carrie (August 1, 2018). "With Jury Picked, Manafort Trial Enters Its 2nd Day : NPR". NPR . Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  21. ↑ Breuninger, Kevin (August 3, 2018). "Accountants set to testify in trial of Trump ex-campaign boss Manafort". CNBC. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  22. ↑ Nancy Gertner, "The extraordinary bias of the judge in the Manafort trial," Washington Post, August 16, 2018.
  23. ↑ Renato Mariotti, "What did we learn from Day Seven of the Manafort trial?"
  24. ↑ Freifeld, Karen. "U.S. judge apologizes to prosecutors in former Trump aide..." U.S. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  25. ↑ Weiner, Rachel; Zapotosky, Matt; Bui, Lynh; Barrett, Devlin (August 17, 2018). "Trump defends Manafort as jury continues second day of deliberations". Washington Post. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  26. ↑ Katelyn Polantz; Dan Berman; Marshall Cohen; Liz Stark. "Paul Manafort found guilty on eight counts". CNN. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  27. ↑ LaFraniere, Sharon (March 7, 2019). "Paul Manafort Is Sentenced to Less Than 4 Years in 1 of 2 Cases Against Him". New York Times . Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  28. ↑ Hymes, Clare; Portnoy, Steven. "Paul Manafort to serve over 7 years in prison". CBS News. Jackson sentenced Manafort to 73 months ... Jackson imposed a 30-month overlap with the Virginia sentence
  29. ↑ Breuninger, Kevin (March 13, 2019). "Paul Manafort gets additional 43 months in second Mueller sentence after ex-Trump campaign boss says he's 'sorry'". CNBC. Paul Manafort, to 43 months of additional prison time
  30. ↑ Pecorin, Allison. "Paul Manafort's sentence in DC case means he faces 81 months total behind bars". ABC News . Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  31. ↑ Goldman, Adam (May 17, 2019). "Former C.I.A. Officer Sentenced to 20 Years After Spying for China". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
Legal offices
Preceded byJudge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
1987–2007		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.