An associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort assisted the FBI in gaining access to one of Manafort’s storage units in Alexandria, Va., according to a new report.
This marks the second associate of Manafort’s who has cooperated with the government after Manafort was indicted on several charges related to the work he completed in Ukraine. The indictment was as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
A court filing from April 6 from Manafort’s lawyers shows a former employee of Manafort, whose name was redacted, brought an FBI agent to a storage unit that contained information and filing cabinets concerning Manafort’s business dealings and finances, the Daily Beast reports.
According to the filing, Manfort’s attorneys are requesting the evidence found in the storage unit not be used against him, because the employee was not authorized to permit the FBI access to the unit. As a result, Manafort’s attorney claim his Fourth Amendment rights were violated.
The filing also includes a redacted affidavit from May 2017 showing the former employee provided the FBI agent a “key to the lock on Unit 3013 and described the contents of Unit 3013.” Additionally, the former employee also provided the FBI agent “written consent” to access the contents of the storage unit.
The storage unit contained information including expenses, paid bills, invoices, and legal complaints. Furthermore, one box said it contained “Ukraine Binders,” according to the Daily Beast.
Manafort faces multiple charges related to the work he did in Ukraine, including bank fraud and making false statements to investigators. He has pleaded not guilty to indictments in both Virginia and D.C. federal courts.
However, his business associate Rick Gates pleaded guilty in February to conspiring against the U.S. and making inaccurate statements to the U.S. government. Gates is now cooperating with Mueller’s investigation.
Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin.
