Manafort lawyer calls Washington prison sentence 'hostile', 'unnecessary'

A lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Wednesday said it was “unnecessary” for a Washington judge to sentence Manafort to time in prison for conspiracy and fraud charges.

“It was hostile and it was totally unnecessary,” Kevin Downing told reporters outside the courthouse. He did not address a New York indictment against Manafort announced earlier on Wednesday.

Reporting by Susan Heavey and Makini Brice; Editing by David Alexander