A coalition of top news organizations requested a federal judge make public the records from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including documents pertaining to the prosecution of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
The group includes the Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and Politico. The news organizations are asking the judge to unseal transcripts from hearings in Manafort’s case that were not open to the public and are seeking access to sealed warrants, warrant applications, and supporting affidavits related to the Russia investigation.
Search warrants were executed in July for Manafort’s home and a storage unit, both located in Alexandria, Va.
“The Russia Investigation goes to the heart of the integrity of the political process, the potential corruption or other misconduct of the president of the United States and his closest advisers — or, as some of the president’s supporters have argued, a corrupt conspiracy by some in law enforcement to harm the president — and the ability of the justice system to fairly and effectively investigate and, where necessary, prosecute any of these potential crimes,” lawyers for the news outlets wrote in its court filing.
The coalition of news organizations said the public interest in “one of the most consequential criminal investigations in our nation’s history” outweighs the desire to protect the integrity of the Russia investigation.
“Under the common law, courts balance the public’s right to information about the workings of the criminal justice system against the legitimate countervailing interests of the government; here, that balance tips decisively in favor of the public,” the outlets wrote in its filing.
Mueller took over the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials last year.
Since then, 19 people — 13 of whom are Russian nationals — and three Russian companies have been charged in the investigation.
Four of those charged worked for the Trump campaign: Manafort, his business partner and former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates, former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Manafort and Gates were indicted by a federal grand jury last year on more than a dozen counts. A grand jury in Virginia also indicted Manafort and Gates on a combined 32 counts in February.
Of the four former Trump campaign officials charged, only Manafort has pleaded not guilty.
