Prosecutors on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team filed a motion with the court Friday asking the judge to bar Paul Manafort from arguing during trial that the government targeted him because of his role as Trump campaign chairman.
“Manafort should … be precluded from arguing that he has been singled out for prosecution because of his position in the campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump, or otherwise asserting that he has been selectively prosecuted by the Special Counsel’s Office,” Mueller’s team wrote.
Prosecutors noted that Manafort never filed a legal motion asking for the case to be dismissed on selective-prosecution grounds.
“Courts have consistently held that claims of selective (or vindictive) prosecution must be presented to the court before trial and cannot be argued to the jury,” the government filing said. “The government’s reasons for initiating a prosecution have nothing to do with whether the evidence at trial proves the elements of the charged offenses, which is the sole question that the jury must answer.”
Mueller's team also wants the judge to prevent Manafort's defense from bringing up already litigated pre-trial issues such as the assertion Mueller has overstepped his authority or that he has indicted Manafort on charges regular DOJ prosecutors chose not to pursue in years past.
“Any such argument would be misleading to the extent it suggests that the Department ceased investigating Manafort before the appointment of the Special Counsel and had decided not to bring charges against him,” the prosecution wrote. “It would also not make a fact more or less true. Instead, it would again invite jurors to consider impermissible factors.”
The judge in the Virginia case, U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III, has yet to rule on Manafort’s motion arguing that Mueller went beyond his legal authority in bringing the case.
Manafort's Virginia trial is scheduled to begin July 25th.
Mueller seeks to bar Manafort from tying charges to Trump campaign role (Politico)