Special counsel Robert Mueller must identify for Paul Manafort the individuals, including “former senior foreign politicians,” prosecutors have accused Manafort of working with in his alleged unregistered lobbying campaign for Ukraine, a judge ordered Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson was responding to a request by Manafort that Mueller provide additional details about the charges he is bringing against the former Trump campaign chairman. She denied the other details Manafort was asking for, requests she largely said were moot because prosecutors had disclosed the requested information in previous court proceedings and in discovery.
Tuesday’s order was a very minor victory for Manafort in what have been a series of legal setbacks for him in the lead-up to his trial in Washington, D.C., currently slated for mid-September.
The charges he’s facing in the case include false statements, money laundering and failure to disclose foreign lobbying. In a seperate case in Virginia, Mueller has also brought charges that include tax fraud and bank fraud. That trial is currently scheduled to begin towards the end of July.
Manafort pleaded not guilty in both cases.
Jackson ordered Mueller to disclose the identities of the individuals to Manafort by Friday, which is also when she will hold a heading on the prosecutors’ request that Manafort’s bail be revoked, as well as an arraignment on the latest set of charges brought against him. Both the new charges and the bail revocation request relate to allegations that Manafort engaged in witness tampering with two former associates who coordinated the lobbying effort with the ex-foreign politicians.
Read Tuesday’s order below:
Now watch carefully as Faux News suddenly has a huge interest in whoever Mueller ends up ID’ing here, trying to discredit them or defend them or whatever just happens to be in Trump’s best interests.
I find myself wondering whether, by doing so, the sources the investigation is using are compromised by the revelation.
How will it impact the investigation if these sources are revealed, but they still have information for the team that hasn’t yet been shared?
I’m guessing Mueller’s team is prepared for this, but this could be real ugly. Wonder if there are any stipulations that could be requested, because that puts these sources into some serious retaliatory danger, in my mind.
Interesting.
And I don’t think this hurts Mueller or the investigation, if anything, if these names become public it just puts more squeeze on trump and more fear for his life for Manafort. Just my H.O. but I do think the end of the week will not be as depressing (at least for us) as the beginning of the week.
I have to be in DC and environs this weekend and into next week…ooh boy…timing.
Can you have @antisachetdethe fly in with you? Like on a Friday indictment afternoon?
Sure! But I’m driving and glad I have Sirius radio. Can pick them up at the airport though.