A federal jury convicted Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman for Donald Trump, of eight charges Tuesday, drawing reactions from across the political landscape. President Trump “It’s a witch hunt. It’s a disgrace.” MORE: Trump responds to Manafort guilty verdicts » Advertisement Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) “Any attempt by the president to pardon Mr. Manafort or interfere in the investigation into his campaign would be a gross abuse of power and require immediate action by Congress.” – Warner is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee MORE: Sen. Mark R. Warner: ‘This verdict makes it absolutely clear that the Mueller probe is not a “witch hunt” ’ » Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) “Michael Cohen’s almost simultaneous guilty plea to felony counts of tax fraud and bank fraud, and campaign finance violations involving the payment of hush money to women alleged to have had affairs with Trump, is yet another set of convictions of the president’s inner circle. The factual basis of the plea, potentially implicating the president in illegal campaign finance violations, adds to the president’s legal jeopardy.” – Schiff is a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) It’s important to let this process continue without interference. I hope Mr. Mueller can conclude his investigation sooner rather than later for the benefit of the nation. — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 21, 2018 Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) With the Cohen and Manafort news today, it’s more important than ever that Congress act immediately to protect the Mueller investigation. — Tim Kaine (@timkaine) August 21, 2018 — Kaine was the 2016 Democratic nominee for vice president<doc-sep>CHARLESTON, W.Va. — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he feels "very badly" for Paul Manafort after his former campaign chairman was convicted on eight felony counts in his federal bank and tax fraud trial. Trump called it a "sad thing that happened" and said the verdict had nothing to do with him and "nothing to do with Russian collusion." "I feel badly for Paul Manafort, I must tell you, he was a great man, he was with Ronald Reagan and many people over the years, and I feel very sad about that. It doesn't involve me, but I still feel it is a very sad thing that happened," he said after landing in West Virginia for a campaign rally. "This has nothing to do with Russian collusion." Trump added of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, "It's a witch hunt and a disgrace." The president did not answer shouted questions about his former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon to eight counts of tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations, including two counts related to hush-money payments made to women "at the direction of" Trump. A federal jury in Virginia convicted Manafort on eight felony counts on Tuesday, but the judge declared a mistrial on the 10 other charges he faced. Manafort was found guilty on five counts of tax fraud, one count of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts and two counts of bank fraud. A mistrial was declared in three counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, and seven counts of bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy. In June, Trump had called the case against Manafort "very unfair." Wow, what a tough sentence for Paul Manafort, who has represented Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other top political people and campaigns. Didn’t know Manafort was the head of the Mob. What about Comey and Crooked Hillary and all of the others? Very unfair! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2018 At that time, after Manafort was ordered to a Virginia jail following allegations of witness tampering, Trump claimed Manafort had limited involvement with his 2016 presidential campaign. "You know, Paul Manafort worked for me for a very short period of time," Trump said. "Manafort has nothing to do with our campaign. But I tell you, I feel a little badly about it. They went back 12 years to get things that he did 12 years ago." Manafort joined the campaign in March 2016, became chair in May and resigned in August 2016. At a nearly 90 minute campaign speech Tuesday evening, Trump touched on topics ranging from the NFL to the EU — but avoided addressing the Manafort or Cohen developments directly. Instead, the president stuck within his comfort zone, attacking the media and accusing them of promoting fake news on the “Russian witch hunt." “Where is the collusion?" he asked. "They are still looking for collusion, where is the collusion? Find some collusion.” As the legal woes of Trump’s former aides dominated headlines outside the venue, Manafort and Cohen were far from the minds of voters inside it. “I just don’t care about that stuff” said Dee Dotson, a resident of Charleston, when asked about Cohen and Manafort. “As long as the economy keeps doing good and Trump keeps bringing coal back, I’ll keep voting for him,” she said. Trump wasted no time pivoting to Hillary Clinton’s comments on the dying coal industry in 2016 — with the mention of Clinton's name drawing “lock her up” chants from the crowd.<doc-sep>The conviction, analysts say, might increase the pressure on Manafort to cooperate with Mueller in hopes of getting a sentencing break. “Now that he’s seen how this goes, maybe he is now more likely to want to consider working out a plea deal,” said Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney who observed much of the trial.<doc-sep>Paul Manafort was once President Trump’s campaign manager. By the fall of 2018, he was expected to face at least a decade in prison for 10 felony counts. Those counts included financial fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice. “Mr. Manafort is disappointed of not getting acquittals all the way through. He is evaluating all of his options at this point.” In the hopes of getting a more lenient punishment, Manafort agreed to fully cooperate with the special counsel, Robert Mueller. Now, federal prosecutors are saying he violated his plea deal by repeatedly lying during their investigation. Manafort’s lawyer also allegedly passed information to President Trump’s legal team. But this isn’t Manafort’s first scandal. Controversy has trailed the veteran Republican adviser since his earliest work as an international lobbyist and consultant. In the 1980s, Manafort testified before Congress and admitted to using his political influence to win millions of dollars in contracts from federal low-income housing programs. “The technical term for what we do and what law firms, associations and professional groups do is lobbying. For purposes of today, I will admit that in a narrow sense some people might term it influence peddling.” That same decade, Manafort advised the Philippine dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, on improving his image in the U.S. Manafort allegedly received $10 million in cash from a Marcos confidante. It was apparently money intended for Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign. But the campaign said it never received that money. Foreign contributions to U.S. presidential elections are illegal. Also in the 1980s, Manafort was linked to the prime minister of the Bahamas at a time when the island nation had alleged ties to drug traffickers. Manafort’s company said that the goal of its work was to help the Bahamas obtain more U.S. aid to help curb the drug smuggling. Decades later, Manafort would run Trump’s presidential campaign. “We want America to understand who Donald Trump the man is. Not just Donald Trump the candidate. The composite of his career. Not just from a business standpoint or a political standpoint, from a human standpoint as well.” But he resigned five months into the job in August 2016, in the wake of reports that he received more than $12 million from Viktor Yanukovich, the former Ukrainian president and pro-Russia politician. Yanukovich and his political party relied on advice from Manafort and his firm, which helped them win several elections. The Times uncovered that Manafort and others close to Trump met with the Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer in June 2016. That lawyer claimed to have damaging political information about Hillary Clinton. As for this latest brush with controversy, Manafort’s lawyers insist that their client has been truthful. But they acknowledge that Manafort and Mueller’s team are at an impasse.<doc-sep>
Paul Manafort arrives for a hearing at US District Court on June 15, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort leaves Federal Court on December 11, 2017 in Washington, DC. In October, Trump's one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates were arrested on money laundering and tax-related charges. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Paul Manafort, advisor to Donald Trump, is seen on the floor of the Quicken Loans Arena at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, July 19, 2016. CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 17: Paul Manafort, campaign manager for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, is interviewed on the floor of the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena July 17, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Republican National Convention begins tomorrow. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) (CNN) — President Donald Trump briefly slammed the investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 campaign during his rally in West Virginia on Tuesday, hours after his campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted on charges stemming from that investigation. “Fake news and the Russian witch hunt,” Trump said during his rally in West Virginia. “Where is the collusion? You know they’re still looking for collusion. Where is the collusion? Find us some collusion. We want to find the collusion.” Trump largely avoided the topic of the investigation during the first portion of his rally and after making these remarks, he quickly returned to his scripted remarks. He had earlier praised Manafort as a “good man” just hours after he was convicted on eight federal counts of bank and tax fraud. Trump seized on the guilty verdict to decry Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt” and a “disgrace,” noting that the charges were not related to Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. “Paul Manafort is a good man. He was with Ronald Reagan. He was with a lot of different people over the years. I feel very sad about that. It doesn’t involve me but I still feel – you know it’s a very sad thing that happened,’ Trump said as he arrived in Charleston, West Virginia, for a rally Tuesday evening. “You know, this has nothing to do with Russian collusion.” The comments were the President’s first since the double-header of Manafort’s conviction and Trump’s longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen’s guilty plea on eight unrelated federal charges – both stories breaking within minutes of each other. Trump declined to answer questions about Cohen’s guilty verdict, which could put the President in legal jeopardy. Among other charges, Cohen pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws “in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office,” Trump. A source close to the White House told CNN’s Jim Acosta that the White House had hoped for a favorable verdict in the Manafort case, which would have provided an opening for further attacks on the Mueller investigation. But even as Manafort was convicted by a jury on eight counts and could face decades in prison, Trump wasted no time pivoting to attacking Mueller. “It’s a witch hunt and it’s disgrace. But this has nothing to do with what they started out, looking for Russians in our campaign – there were none,” Trump said. “It was not the original mission believe me. It was something very much different. It had nothing to do with Russian collusion.” “We continue the witch hunt,” he added, before walking away and offering reporters a thumbs-up.