Judge issues a surprisingly light sentence for Paul Manafort's crimes in the Mueller probe

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III issued a sentence Thursday of only 47 months for Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chair, who has been found guilty on multiple counts in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. This sentence was surprisingly light and far below the federal sentencing guidelines for Manafort's crimes.

Ellis said that the guideline range for the sentence, which is between about 19 and 24 years, seemed "excessive." He also said Manafort has lived an "otherwise blameless life" — a bizarre claim about a man who has worked to boost the autocratic rulers abroad.

Manafort faced sentencing in Virginia for charges of bank fraud, tax fraud, and hiding foreign assets. He will also face sentencing from Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C., on separate charges, including conspiracy. Jackson will determine whether Manafort's sentence will run concurrently or serially with his sentence in Virginia. Given that Manafort is 69,  this decision could likely determine whether or not he ever sets foot outside of prison ever again. She may sentence him for up to 10 years.

Reporters in the courtroom said Manafort entered while being pushed in a wheelchair and wearing a green jumpsuit.

At one point, Manafort addressed the court. Reporters said the last two years have been "difficult" and that he's been "shamed," and he asked the judge for compassion. He did not apologize for his crimes.

"The person that the media has described me as is not someone I recognize," Manafort said, according to Daily Beast reporter Julia Arciga.

Before issuing the sentence, the judge said he was surprised Manafort not express regret in his statement.

Ellis noted early in the sentencing that none of the crimes he has been charged with by Mueller's team involve colluding with Russia — but he added that he does not believe Mueller has thus exceeded his mandate.

"I faced that issue at the beginning of the case," Ellis said. "I concluded that it was legitimate."

At times during the case, Ellis has seemed to show hostility toward the prosecutors and seemed to cast doubt on their motives for bringing the charges against Manafort. Nevertheless, he consistently found that Mueller and his team's case had legal merit.

He also said that Manafort, who fought the charges against him by going to trial, did not deserve credit for accepting responsibility for his actions, despite his lawyers arguing otherwise. Ruling that Manafort had accepted responsibility would have reduced his sentence under federal guidelines.

Prosecutors argued during the hearing that despite giving 50 hours worth of interviews during his period of cooperation, Manafort did not inform them of anything useful. They later nullified the cooperation agreement when they concluded the defendant had lied to them on multiple occasions.

“He told us 50 hours of things we already knew," said prosecutor Greg Andres. "He did not provide information that was useful.”