Mueller's office accuses Manafort of witness tampering in new court filing
- Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, attempted to tamper with potential witnesses, according to the special counsel Robert Mueller.
- Mueller asked the judge overseeing Manafort's case to revoke or revise an order releasing Manafort ahead of his trial.
- Manafort is accused of attempting to communicate via phone and encrypted messaging with two people associated with a pro-Ukraine group of former European politicians who were involved in Manafort's lobbying activities.
- The communications were "in an effort to influence their testimony and to otherwise conceal evidence," according to the FBI.
The special counsel Robert Mueller submitted a new court filing on Monday asking a judge to revoke or revise an order releasing Paul Manafort, the former chairman of President Donald Trump's campaign, ahead of his trial.
The reason, according to the filing, was that Manafort attempted "to tamper with potential witnesses" while out on bail and thus violated the conditions of his release.
In a declaration filed with Mueller's court document, FBI agent Brock Domin said Manafort attempted to communicate via phone and encrypted messaging with two people associated with The Hapsburg Group - a group of former senior European politicians who hold pro-Ukraine views.
In February, Manafort was accused, among other things, of secretly paying the Hapsburg Group more than two million euros, though four different offshore accounts, to lobby on behalf of the Ukrainian government in 2012 and 2013, when it was controlled by the pro-Russian strongman Viktor Yanukovych.
According to Domin, at least one witness from the group reported Manafort's outreach and said he was attempting to influence their testimony about his lobbying activities.
The FBI agent added that the bureau has obtained documents and statements from the two people Manafort is accused of reaching out to, as well as phone records and documents taken from Manafort's iCloud account which apparently show Manafort's attempts.
Mueller is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 US election and whether members of the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to help tilt the race in his favor. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges against him including tax and bank fraud, money laundering, conspiracy against the US, failure to register as a foreign agent, and making false statements to investigators.
Manafort was released to home confinement after his arraignment in October.
Trump, meanwhile, has denied collusion with Russia and called Mueller's investigation a "witch hunt."