A federal judge ruled against Paul Manafort again on Friday, saying the special counsel's charges against him for money laundering will stay in the case.
CNBC:
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson also denied Manafort's request to dismiss a related allegation that would require him to forfeit properties if he was convicted on that money laundering charge.
In a court filing, Jackson disputed the argument put forward by Manafort's lawyers that Manafort did not violate a law requiring people who act as foreign agents to register as such.
The lawyers said the law does not ban the act of serving as a foreign agent, but merely bans the failure to register as a foreign agent.
Jackson said that argument was "inconsistent with the text of the statute."
Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, is also charged with failing to register as an agent of Ukraine. He had argued that action alone couldn’t have generated any proceeds for the purpose of money laundering.
Manafort is also charged with conspiracy, two counts of making false statements and two counts of obstruction of justice. Those charges were filed in Washington. Manafort faces more than a dozen charges in a parallel case in Virginia.
Judge denies Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort's bid to drop money laundering charge (CNBC)
Manafort Judge Rejects Bid to Toss Money-Laundering Charge (Bloomberg Politics)