Ex-Trump aide Paul Manafort reaches bail deal with Mueller, his lawyers say

Brad Heath | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Manafort agrees to $11.7 million bail deal with Mueller's team Paul Manafort's lawyers say the agreement would let the former Trump campaign adviser 'mount his defense of this case.' Video provided by Newsy

Lawyers for President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort said Thursday that they reached an agreement with prosecutors to free him from house arrest until his trial on federal money laundering and conspiracy charges.

In exchange, Manafort would promise to give up $11.65 million worth of real estate – including homes in the Hamptons and Palm Beach, Gardens Fla. – if he violates the conditions of his release, his lawyers wrote in a court filing on Thursday afternoon. The agreement, which still needs a judge's approval, would also allow Manafort to shed a GPS tracking device.

"This amount is a substantial portion of the Defendant’s assets accumulated over a lifetime of work," wrote his lawyers, Kevin Downing and Thomas Zehnle.

Manafort and one of his associates, Rick Gates, have been largely confined to their homes since Oct. 30, when special counsel Robert Mueller unsealed indictments charging them with money laundering and conspiracy. The case was the second prosecution to come from Mueller's wide-ranging investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson still must approve the request. Jackson has said she was concerned that both men posed a flight risk because their extensive overseas connections.

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In the days after they were charged, lawyers for both Manafort and Gates expressed confidence that they would quickly be freed on bail. But they ended up sparring with prosecutors for nearly a month over precisely how much money they would have to put up to secure their release pending trial, as well as where the money would come from.

In court filings, Manafort's lawyers said he had agreed not to travel internationally, or to leave Florida, New York, Virginia and Washington without permission from the court. The agreement, they wrote, "will permit Mr. Manafort to conduct his business and mount his defense of this case."

A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment.