Manafort Judge Wants Mueller to Say More About Alleged Lies
Manafort’s Suspected Lies May Be Spooled Out in Court Filings
(Bloomberg) -- A federal judge ordered Special Counsel Robert Mueller to provide more information about lies they say Paul Manafort deliberately told to prosecutors about his contacts with the Trump administration and a Ukrainian man suspected of having ties to Russian intelligence.
Lawyers for Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, appeared before the judge Tuesday to respond to dramatic accusations by Mueller that Manafort breached his plea agreement by repeatedly lying in debriefings when he was supposed to be cooperating.
Rather than directly challenge those Nov. 26 claims by demanding a hearing with witnesses, Manafort lawyer Richard Westling said the defense has been conferring with prosecutors to understand the nature of Mueller’s accusations. Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann confirmed those talks at the hearing.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Amy Berman Jackson repeatedly pressed both sides to understand how she should resolve the dispute before she sentences Manafort on March 5 for the two conspiracy counts he admitted. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on those counts.
Jackson gave Manafort’s lawyers until Jan. 7 to submit arguments in writing, and the prosecutors must provide their underlying evidence by Jan. 14. The defense has until Jan. 18 to respond, and the judge may hold a hearing on Jan. 25, she said.
The judge must then determine whether Manafort breached his plea agreement, which could affect how severely she punishes him at sentencing.
Manafort, 69, was convicted at trial of bank and tax fraud in Virginia in August. He will be sentenced for those crimes on Feb. 8.
Manafort, an international political consultant, began helping Mueller’s investigation after pleading guilty in Washington on Sept. 14 to avoid a second trial.
He admitted he conspired to launder money, commit tax fraud, violate a foreign-lobbying law and lie to the Justice Department. He also admitted he conspired with a business associate, Konstantin Kilimnik, to tamper with witnesses.
Kilimnik had spent a decade working as a translator and fixer in Manafort’s political consulting business in Ukraine. Prosecutors say he has ties to Russian intelligence.
To contact the reporters on this story: Andrew Harris in Washington at aharris16@bloomberg.net;David Voreacos in New York at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jeffrey D Grocott at jgrocott2@bloomberg.net
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