Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chair, has been released from house arrest by a federal judge, Amy Berman Jackson, on a $10 Million bail, pending his appearances in Washington. He is, however, restricted to two counties in Florida.

Manafort will be on a 12-hour curfew, from 11 PM ET to 7 AM ET and be allowed to travel between his homes in Florida. He is barred from going to airports, train stations or bus stations without approval from the courts.

According to news agencies, any motion seeking permission must be filed one week before the proposed trip and must explain why any proposed meeting cannot take place in Florida or through use of the phone or internet.

Manafort surrenders passport

Manafort turned himself in in October after he was held liable for money laundering and failure to register as a foreign agent. He failed to disclose his ventures in Ukraine. He has surrendered his passport to authorities and his wife is expected to do the same.

Richard Gates, his co-accused has been trying to have his bail conditions and house arrest amended. The judge is yet to rule on his appeal. Manafort, 68, and Gates, 46, both pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them by Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.

Manafort has put up four properties; his home in Florida, two properties in New York, and an apartment in Virginia, to meet his bail requirement.

He is to appear in court in Washington in January. In addition to the properties, his wife will be putting $5 million in an account for their daughter, and another $2 million to back his bail.

Manafort needs to earn a living

Manafort's charges stem from Mueller's investigation of Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election.

Federal agents reportedly intercepted communications between Kremlin operatives and Manafort on every turn of the investigation.

President Donald Trump has called the probe a witch-hunt as more members of his team are implicated. Manafort's lawyers say the previous bail conditions were making it impossible for him to earn a living.

Judge Jackson has cautioned Manafort against discussing the case with the press after he wrote an op-ed for a Ukrainian newspaper, the Kiev Post, warning that even ghostwriting will not be tolerated.

The article, which was written under an alias, Oleg Voloshin, praised his political efforts in Ukraine. While his attorneys argued it was not meant for an audience in the U.S., prosecutors say it violated the judge's order that the case may not be discussed in public.
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