Paul Manafort apologizes at second sentencing: ‘I am sorry for what I have done’

Once a globe-trotting political operative who helped elect President Trump and three of his Republican predecessors, Paul Manafort returned to federal court Wednesday as a felon apologizing for his criminal conduct and awaiting word on how much more prison time he could receive in the hard fall from his power-broker days.

Manafort, 69, apologized to “all those negatively affected by my actions,” acknowledging that he did not express such regret when sentenced days ago before Judge T.S. Ellis III to 47 months in prison for bank and tax fraud. 

“I want to say to you now, I am sorry for what I have done and for all of the activities that have gotten us here today,” Manafort said from a wheelchair, turning to face Judge Amy Berman Jackson as he spoke clearly into a microphone at the defense table in her Washington courtroom.

Once a globe-trotting political operative who helped elect President Trump and three of his Republican predecessors, Paul Manafort returned to federal court Wednesday as a felon apologizing for his criminal conduct and awaiting word on how much more prison time he could receive in the hard fall from his power-broker days.

Manafort, 69, apologized to “all those negatively affected by my actions,” acknowledging that he did not express such regret when sentenced days ago before Judge T.S. Ellis III to 47 months in prison for bank and tax fraud. 

He added that nine months in solitary confinement after being jailed for witness tampering gave him “new self-awareness.”