Lawyers for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort failed to reach a plea deal with federal prosecutors ahead of his second trial stemming from the special counsel’s Russia investigation, according to a report.
Negotiations reached an impasse over issues raised by special counsel Robert Mueller, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, meaning Manafort’s trial in Washington is likely to start on the scheduled date of Sept. 17.
[More: Prosecutors project its case in next Manafort trial could wrap in as little as two weeks]
The two sides met while a jury impaneled by a federal district court in Virginia was considering whether to convict Manafort of 18 tax and bank fraud charges brought by Mueller’s team in that district.
The jury last Tuesday returned guilty verdicts on eight counts. Manafort was found guilty of five tax fraud charges for filing false income tax returns from 2010 to 2014. He was also found guilty of one count of failing to file foreign bank and financial account reports in 2012. In addition, the jury returned guilty verdicts concerning two bank fraud charges related to a $3.4 million loan from Citizens Bank and a $1 million loan from Banc of California.
Federal prosecutors have until Wednesday to advise the court and Manafort on how they wish to proceed regarding the other deadlocked counts.
News of attempts to strike a plea deal for the Washington case contrasts with Manafort’s more defiant approach to his Virginia lawsuit. It also comes as former Trump personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty last week to tax and bank fraud, as well as campaign finance violations.
In his trial before the D.C. District Court next month, Manafort will face counts with respect to witness tampering, conspiracy to defraud the United States, failure to register as a foreign agent, and making false statements.
