Paul Manafort: an experienced political consultant with a history of lobbying. “Some people might term it influence-peddling.” Including for some foreign dictators and human rights violators. He’s also Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman. Now, he has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. So what happened? Manafort worked on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign for five months in 2016. By August he was out amid scandal. “Some breaking news here” “Campaign chairman Paul Manafort” “has resigned” “over the last several weeks there had been story after story” “that links Donald Trump’s campaign manager to one of Vladimir Putin’s buddies.” Reports had surfaced of Manafort’s business dealings with Russian-aligned leaders in Ukraine and secret lobbying efforts in the United States. Fast forward to 2017. “So help me God.” Special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to oversee the investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia and any other wrongdoing he caught along the way. Mueller’s team alleged that Manafort engaged in a tax and bank fraud scheme that allowed him to hide millions of dollars from consulting work he did in Ukraine. So what are the charges? Manafort was convicted on eight counts of financial fraud in one case in Northern Virginia. In a separate case, Mueller charged Manafort with two counts of conspiracy. He agreed to cooperate and pleaded guilty. But it was later ruled that he had deceived prosecutors about a few things, including his interactions with a Russian associate, a breach of his plea deal. So what’s next? Manafort has now been sentenced in both cases. He has also agreed to give up cash and property, including five homes in New York. Of the half dozen former Trump associates prosecuted by Mueller, Manafort received the harshest punishment yet.