Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is urging a federal judge in Virginia to reject a request by former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to hold a hearing about alleged leaks.
In a court filing in Alexandria late Monday, prosecutors for Mueller’s team argued the “sampling” of 10 news articles provided by Manafort’s defense team does not show information about the grand jury investigation was leaked by either prosecutors investigators.
“Manafort’s speculative claim of improper conduct falls far short of the showing necessary to warrant a hearing on potential violations of [a rule that established grand jury secrecy] or of his constitutional rights,” wrote Mueller’s team. “A pretrial hearing on alleged government leaks, which would itself generate publicity on the very matters that Manafort finds prejudicial, is unwarranted.”
“He cites ten articles, none of which purports to disclose grand jury information,” Mueller’s team wrote. “Many of the matters reported, if accurate, would have been known to the defense, to witnesses who were interviewed or subpoenaed for documents, or to other investigators examining overlapping issues.”
Last month, Manafort’s attorneys Kevin Downing and Thomas Sehnle argued that the government is leaking information to prejudice the two ongoing criminal cases brought by Mueller against him in Washington and Virginia. Prosecutors also argue that leaks could stem from elsewhere, since Manafort was also the subject of other ongoing congressional investigation.
But Mueller’s team argued that references to “officials” in those stories could just be “people who are not subject to [grand jury secrecy] restrictions.”
Manafort, 69, is set to go on trial on July 10 for charges of tax evasion and bank fraud in Virginia. He faces charges of money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent in Washington, where he goes on trial on Sept. 17.
Manafort’s defense argued this month in court that the case in Alexandria should be thrown out because the charges are outside the special counsel’s scope. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, is expected to rule on that motion within days.
