Manafort wants judge to overturn ruling that he lied to investigators

Paul Manafort wants a federal judge to consider reversing a prior ruling that he deliberately lied to investigators, arguing a sealed filing from special counsel Robert Mueller shows the former Trump campaign chairman did not intentionally make false statements.

In a heavily redacted filing in D.C. District Court on Wednesday, Manafort’s attorneys said a February filing from the special counsel’s office shows that a statement from Mueller’s team “was not accurate.”

{mosads}They say the information included in the sealed filing about Mueller’s meeting with former Trump campaign aide Richard Gates shows Manafort did not intentionally lie.

“Contrary to the Special Counsel’s contention that there is still sufficient evidence in the record to support the Court’s determination that Mr. Manafort lied,” the filing states, “the Special Counsel’s recent revelation fundamentally changes the state of the evidence.”

Manafort’s lawyers say the sealed February filing shows that an attorney for Gates had contacted the special counsel’s office over media coverage stemming from a hearing on whether Manafort had broken his plea deal agreement.

The lawyers argue that the coverage would have surrounded the Feb. 7 release of a redacted transcript of a Feb. 4 hearing, because Gates had met with the special counsel’s team on Feb. 15.

During that Feb. 4 hearing, former Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told Judge Amy Berman Jackson that the special counsel believed Manafort “lied about an extremely sensitive matter,” and that it may have been in an attempt to “augment his chances for a pardon,” according to a heavily redacted transcript of that hearing.

Jackson ruled in February that Manafort intentionally lied in breach of his plea agreement.

Manafort’s plea agreement fell apart last year when Mueller accused him of lying to the special counsel’s office and FBI investigators about five subject matters, including his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, who is suspected of having ties to Russian intelligence, Kilimnik’s role in an effort to tamper with witnesses, an unknown investigation being run out of another district, his contacts with the Trump administration, and a payment made to a company working for him.

Manafort’s attorneys argued that he did not deliberately lie and told the truth to the best of his ability.

However, she said Mueller failed to establish sufficient evidence that Manafort intentionally lied about his contacts with the Trump administration or Kilimnik.

Manafort was subsequently sentenced to a total of 7 1/2 years in prison in separate cases in Alexandria, Va., and Washington, D.C. 

During the proceedings for his D.C. sentencing in mid-March, Manafort’s attorneys had asked Jackson to reconsider her ruling that Manafort deliberately lied about his interactions with Kilimnik. His attorneys referred to new information brought forth by Gates.

Kilimnik, who is believed to be out of reach of U.S. officials in Russia, was charged alongside Manafort for allegedly tampering with witnesses.