Manafort’s Washington Trial Opener Is Pushed Back a Week

(Bloomberg) -- The judge overseeing Paul Manafort’s money-laundering trial in Washington, D.C., granted a request by the defense for more time to prepare following a trial on other charges in Alexandria, Va.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, in a pretrial hearing on Tuesday, pushed back opening arguments in the trial until Sept. 24. Those arguments had been scheduled to begin after jury selection on Sept. 17. Jury selection will still begin on that date, the judge said.

During the hearing, prosecutors haggled with lawyers for Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, over whether jurors could be asked whether they voted in the 2016 election and whether they had any opinions of Trump or individuals associated with his campaign for president.

In addition to money laundering, Manafort is accused of failing to register as a foreign agent and obstructing justice. He was convicted separately of tax and bank fraud on Aug. 21 in federal court in Alexandria.

--With assistance from Greg Farrell.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey D Grocott at jgrocott2@bloomberg.net, David S. Joachim

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