The plea agreement reached between former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and special counsel Robert Mueller’s team says Manafort must cooperate fully with the federal prosecutors in “any and all matters as to what the Government deems the cooperation relevant.”
Manafort, 69, also has agreed to testify at any proceeding in any federal district — including grand juries — going forward in Mueller’s investigation.
The longtime Republican operative, who served as the head of campaign of now-President Trump in 2016, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of conspiracy to a commit a number of offenses against the United States and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He had originally faced seven charges stemming from his lobbying work in Ukraine.
The 17-page plea agreement stipulates that Manafort must cooperate “fully, truthfully, completely and forthrightly.”
Federal prosecutors revealed in court Friday that Manafort’s “proffer session and cooperation” led to the “broad” plea agreement.
As part of the agreement, Manafort admitted guilt on ten related bank and tax fraud charges in Alexandria, Va., that a jury was deadlocked in trial last month. At the conclusion of his cooperation, Mueller’s team will dismiss the 10 charges. He was convicted on eight other bank and tax fraud charges last month in Virginia, and prosecutors said with cooperation, the sentence he will face will be reduced.
Manafort must be at “all” meetings requested by Mueller’s team, and will turn over “all documents and other material” related to the investigation.
Further, Manafort “must at all times give complete, truthful and accurate information and testimony, and must not commit, or attempt to commit, any further crimes,” reads the agreement.
[Opinion: Don’t pardon Paul Manafort]
Jury selection for his Washington trial had been set to start Monday, with opening statements scheduled for Sept. 24.
Manafort will remained jailed until sentencing in both Washington and Virginia, which will be put off until cooperation is complete so prosecutors “will have the benefit of all relevant information before a sentence is imposed.”
A status report is scheduled for Nov. 16 in Washington, and he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Last month, Trump praised Manafort for not agreeing to a plea deal — unlike his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
“I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. ‘Justice’ took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to ‘break’ – make up stories in order to get a ‘deal.’ Such respect for a brave man!” Trump said in an Aug. 22 tweet.
It’s unclear whether Manafort will cooperate at all in the investigation into Trump’s alleged cooperation with Russia during the 2016 campaign, but the White House on Friday said the Manafort plea deal was unrelated to Trump.
“This had absolutely nothing to do with the president or his victorious 2016 presidential campaign,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday. “It is totally unrelated.”
Neither Trump nor Manafort’s campaign work is mentioned in the plea agreement.
In addition to Manafort’s guilty plea in Washington and conviction in Virginia, the special counsel has secured guilty pleas from former Manafort associate Rick Gates, former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, former Gates and Manafort associate Alex van der Zwaan and a California man who committed identity fraud, Richard Pinedo.
Mueller took over the FBI’s investigation into Russian election interference and possible connections to the Trump campaign in May 2017. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller following the recusal from the investigation by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Trump has continually called the investigation a “witch hunt” and lobbed insults at Sessions for recusing himself and paving the way for Mueller.
