The defense team for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort acknowledged in a new filing that Manafort shared 2016 presidential campaign polling data with someone with ties to Russian intelligence, but said he did not breach the terms of his plea deal agreement.
The defense team also admitted that Manafort was unable to remember certain topics about which special counsel Robert Mueller has accused him of lying, but said it does not wish to have a hearing on the issue of breaching his plea deal.
Manafort “provided complete and truthful information to the best of his ability” over the course of 12 meetings with federal prosecutors and FBI agents, said the Tuesday court filing by Manafort’s legal team.
“Issues and communications related to Ukrainian political events simply were not at the forefront of Mr. Manafort’s mind during the period at issue and it is not surprising at all that Mr. Manafort was unable to recall specific details prior to having his recollection refreshed,” Manafort’s lawyers added in the Tuesday filing.
But Manafort’s defense team failed to properly redact the document, which reveals more details of what the special counsel’s team alleges Manafort lied about.
By failing to properly redact their document, Manafort’s defense team said he was unable to properly answer questions “with regard to the government’s allegation that Mr. Manafort lied about sharing polling data with Mr. Kilimnik related to the 2016 presidential campaign.”
The filing also shows that Manafort discussed a Ukrainian peace plan “on more than one occasion” with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian-Ukrainian political consultant to Russian intelligence, who at one point worked for Manafort’s consulting firm. He was indicted by Mueller in June 2018 on charges of obstruction of justice and tampering with a witness on behalf of Manafort.
The special counsel accused Manafort of lying about a range of topics, including his communications with Trump administration officials, in a surprising court filing in late November. More details about what the special counsel called “multiple discernible lies” were then revealed by Mueller’s team in early December.
Manafort’s defense team had until midnight Tuesday to fight the accusations, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered in mid-December.
In Tuesday’s filing, Manafort’s lawyers said “he attempted to live up to the requirements of his cooperation agreement and provided meaningful cooperation relating to several key areas under current government investigation.”
But, they conceded that “the conditions of Mr. Manafort’s confinement have taken a toll on his physical and mental health” and impeded his ability to prepare properly for and answer questions during his sessions with federal investigators.
Manafort has been in jail in Alexandria, Va., since June, when a federal judge revoked his bond for allegations of witness tampering. He took a plea deal in September in Washington, where he was facing charges stemming from his lobbying work for a pro-Russian politician in Ukraine. In the deal, he promised he would cooperate with the government on whatever it wanted.
The special counsel has also alleged that Manafort said he had no contact with Trump administration officials and did not ask others to talk with any officials.
“Mr. Manafort was asked specifically about communications with two administration officials but did not recall having a conversation with either individual or reaching out to either individual during the period they worked in the administration,” Manafort’s lawyers wrote.
Mueller’s team cited two examples to Manafort’s team, one where Manafort appears to have given a third party permission to speak to someone in the Trump administration, and another where a witness told the special counsel that Manafort informed the witness he had contact with another Trump administration official, the court filing said.
After saying that there is “no support” that Manafort “intentionally” lied to Mueller’s team, Manafort’s attorneys revealed via failed redaction that Mueller alleges that Manafort was in contact with “a third party asking permission to use Mr. Manafort’s name as an introduction in the event the third party met the president.”
“The first alleged misstatement identified in the special counsel’s submission (regarding a text exchange on May 26, 2018) related to a text message from a third-party asking permission to use Mr. Manafort’s name as an introduction in the event the third party met the president. This does not constitute outreach by Mr. Manafort to the president. The second example identified by the special counsel is hearsay purportedly offered by an undisclosed third party and the defense has not been provided with the statement (or any witness statements that form the basis for alleging intentional falsehoods),” Manafort’s lawyers wrote.
Despite claiming Manafort didn’t lie to investigators, his defense team said they decided that they do not want a hearing on whether their client breached his plea agreement and will wait to dispute the allegations through the sentencing process.
In addition to facing a possible 10-year prison sentence in Washington, Manafort also faces up to 80 years behind bars in Virginia, where he was convicted of bank and tax fraud charges in August.
Mueller’s team has until next week to respond to Manafort’s defense team, and arguments are set for Jan. 25. Manafort faces a tentative March 5 sentencing date in Washington — but he will be sentenced Feb. 8 in Virginia.
There is some speculation that Manafort is angling for a pardon from President Trump. His lawyers likely helped that possibility by claiming Tuesday that the former Trump campaign chairman is suffering from “severe gout,” as well as anxiety and depression due to his scarce contact with his family while behind bars.
