Paul Manafort Spared From Stay On Rikers Island: Reports

NEW YORK — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been spared from a stay on New York City's notorious Rikers Island thanks to an unusual intervention from the U.S. Department of Justice, news reports say.

Manafort appeared to be headed to the jail complex earlier this month as he faced 16 state charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. following his conviction on federal fraud and conspiracy charges.

But federal prison officials told Vance's office on Monday that Manafort would not be moved to Rikers after all, The New York Times reported. He is now locked up at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, a federal jail in Lower Manhattan, records show.

That decision came after Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen told Manhattan prosecutors in a letter last week that he would be tracking where Manafort would be detained, according to the Times. Former federal prosecutors reportedly said it was unusual that such a senior official would get involved in a custody matter like this.

A senior Justice Department official told ABC News that the agency jumped in after Manafort's attorneys raised concerns about his "health and personal safety."

"Mr. Manafort’s attorneys proposed that he remain in federal custody and be made available to the state when necessary," the official told the network. "The Department requested the views of New York prosecutors, who did not object to Mr. Manafort’s proposal."

Vance accused Manafort in March of falsifying business records to rake in millions of dollars illegally through a yearlong scheme. Vance announced the indictment less than an hour after Manafort was sentenced to 43 additional months in prison on federal charges.