A new major twist in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation: Mueller has accused Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, of attempted witness tampering. And many legal experts on cable and Twitter suggest Mueller would not have moved unless he had significant evidence on this charge:
Federal prosecutors on Monday accused President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, of attempting to tamper with witnesses in his federal tax and money laundering case.
In court documents, prosecutors working for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, said that violated the terms of Mr. Manafort’s release while he awaits trial. They asked a federal judge to revise those terms or send him to jail until trial.
Prosecutors said that Mr. Manafort tried to contact witnesses by phone, through an intermediary and through an encrypted messaging program. One witness told the F.B.I. that Mr. Manafort was trying to “suborn perjury,” prosecutors said. Two witnesses provided the texts to the F.B.I., which also searched Mr. Manafort’s cloud-based Apple account, according to court records.
A lawyer for Mr. Manafort did not respond to a message seeking comment. Neither the witnesses nor the intermediaries were named.
Manafort was released to home confinement after his arraignment in October.
Mueller has indicted Manafort in federal courts in Virginia and Washington, D.C., with an array of allegations from money-laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent, to bank and tax fraud. Manafort has pleaded not guilty.
FBI Special Agent Brock Domin, in a declaration filed with Mueller’s motion, said Manafort had attempted to call, text and send encrypted messages in February to two people from “The Hapsburg Group,” a firm he worked with to promote the interests of Ukraine.
The FBI has documents and statements from the two people, as well as telephone records and documents recovered through a search of Manafort’s iCloud account showing that Trump’s former campaign manager attempted communication while he was out on bail, according to Domin.
The communications were “in an effort to influence their testimony and to otherwise conceal evidence,” Domin wrote. “The investigation into this matter is ongoing.”
Manafort is the most senior member of Trump’s campaign to be indicted, though the charges do not relate to campaign activities.
Mueller urged Judge Amy Berman Jackson to “promptly” schedule a hearing on the whether to change Manafort’s conditions of release, which could result in Manafort going to jail.
Disastrous decision by Paul Manafort. This will be used against Manafort at trial and will also be considered by the judge at sentencing. https://t.co/WpLBiVHfNA
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) June 5, 2018
Ex-federal prosecutor Mimi Rocah on the Manafort court filing to @TheLastWord: "It likely means that Paul Manafort is going to go to jail now."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 5, 2018
Looks like Manafort will be thrown in prison while awaiting trial. Hope that sends a message to other criminals trying to tamper with witnesses.
COUGH * @realDonaldTrump * COUGH
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) June 5, 2018
Let me get this straight: you’re facing trial in 2 states, wearing ankle bracelets courtesy of Robert Mueller and allegedly try to suborn perjury from potential witnesses emailing on encrypted apps thinking Mueller won’t find out?
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) June 5, 2018
This behavior is generally frowned upon by judges. https://t.co/vVgzS9rf0f
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) June 5, 2018
Manafort called and texted witnesses in an effort to induce them into giving false testimony, Mueller says in new filing.
And, oh yeah, Mueller has everything pic.twitter.com/k8srOx98WT
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 5, 2018
Paul Manafort now has two options. Keep fighting the government & spend the rest of his life in prison. Cooperate with the government & spend part of his life in prison.
Hoping @realDonaldTrump would try to pardon him went away this weekend when Trump threw him under the bus. https://t.co/SMh21W7EIH
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) June 5, 2018
5/ Note that Trump suddenly began tweeting about Manafort—trying to distance himself from him, after not discussing him much for months—over the past 48-72 hours. What did he hear about this sudden Mueller filing *beforehand*—and how, and from whom? All questions needing answers.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) June 5, 2018
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.