Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's attorney Kevin Downing (L), pictured here with attorney Thomas Zehnle, didn’t specify what Manafort's health problem was in open court. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Legal Manafort in wheelchair, facing ‘significant issues’ with health A judge also sets a Feb. 8 sentencing date for the former Trump campaign chairman.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort appeared in federal court in a wheelchair on Friday and his lawyer said he’s dealing with “significant issues” tied to his health because of his confinement at a Northern Virginia jail.

The attorney, Kevin Downing, didn’t specify what the problem was in open court but a source familiar with the situation later explained the longtime GOP operative who has been confined since mid-June is dealing with an issue related to his diet and has inflammation in his foot.


Manafort, 69, was wearing a green prison jumpsuit labeled on the back “ALEXANDRIA INMATE” and no shoe on his right foot during the proceedings. He appeared in the same ninth-floor federal courtroom where a jury in August convicted him on bank and tax fraud charges.

The hearing, called to address Manafort’s ongoing cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller tied to his subsequent guilty plea in Washington D.C., concluded with U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis setting a Feb. 8 sentencing date for Manafort.

Ellis also formally dismissed 10 counts against Manafort where the jury had failed to reach a verdict.

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Manafort in September headed off a second trial in Washington by agreeing to cooperate with Mueller’s prosecutors and pleading guilty to conspiracy against the U.S. and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

As part of that agreement, Manafort has been meeting regularly with the special counsel’s team to assist with its wider investigation into whether Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election.

During Friday’s hearing, Mueller prosecutor Uzo Asonye confirmed there’s no set end date for Manafort’s cooperation. Still, the special counsel’s office agreed to let Ellis start the sentencing process despite the uncertainty on when they’ll be finished with Manafort.

Ellis last week had taken issue with the “highly unusual” arrangement originally in Manafort’s plea deal, namely a plan that would have held off on dismissing the deadlocked counts in the Virginia trial until they’d gotten “successful cooperation” from the former Trump official.

Moving to avoid any trouble with Ellis, Mueller’s attorneys signaled earlier this week in a court filing that they were open to launching the sentencing process while Manafort meets with the special counsel.

“This is what I was going to do and I’m glad you agreed to it,” Ellis said on Friday. The judge added that Manafort could get credit for his cooperation even after he’s been sentenced.

Manafort’s plea deal includes a 10-year cap on how long he’ll be sent to prison from the D.C. case, which involves foreign-lobbying and money laundering charges. He’s also on track to serve his time from the Washington case concurrently with any sentence from his convictions in Virginia, although that is ultimately up to the judges involved.

Attorneys for Manafort and Mueller also have a Nov. 16 deadline to file their first joint status report on his sentencing with the D.C. judge overseeing the case.

