Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled Wednesday prosecutors are not to mention the matter of possible Trump campaign collusion with Russia when they bring the next Paul Manafort case before a jury in the coming weeks. She also denied the defense's request to move the trial from DC to Roanoke, VA.
The collusion investigation being led by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is “wholly irrelevant to the charges in this case,” Judge Amy Berman Jackson said during a pre-trial hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Manafort was convicted last month in Virginia of charges including bank and tax fraud in what was the first trial arising from Mueller’s investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. election. Jackson said on Wednesday that while prosecutors may present evidence used in that trial, the jury will not be allowed to hear about Manafort’s conviction.
She also said she plans to deny a request by Manafort’s defense attorneys to move the trial to different court, saying that a concern about the political affiliations of the jury pool in Washington, D.C., is “not a lawful basis” for a venue transfer.
CNN:
Manafort's defense team had expressed concern that the jurors would be biased because of the political engagement and familiarity of news coverage of people living in the area.
But Jackson ruled that they didn't give enough reason why impartial jurors couldn't be found.
The decision by Jackson to exclude testimony about the Russia collusion investigation is not a surprise. None of the charges are related to alleged collusion and Judge T.S. Ellis made a similar ruling ahead of the Virginia trial as part of an effort to keep politics out of it.
Discussion of Manafort’s role in the Trump campaign will come up only in connection with alleged false statements he made about his foreign lobbying activities after critical media reports surfaced during the end of his stint as campaign chairman, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Prosecutors also indicated they do not yet know whether they plan to call as a witness Manafort’s former business partner Rick Gates, who has pleaded guilty in the Muller probe.
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Manafort’s lawyers revealed they are working to retain an expert witness who may testify at trial. They did not call witnesses in his first trial
CNN:
The prosecutors will present a case in DC that's more in-depth than at the last trial. They hope to use thousands of documents -- rather than a few hundred -- as evidence in their case. They plan to explain more about Manafort's lobbying activities for Ukrainian politicians in the US, such as the 2012 attempt by Manafort to defeat a congressional resolution condemning former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych for the imprisonment of political rival Yulia Tymoshenko, Weissmann said in court.
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The attorneys involved in Manafort's case will be back in court September 12 to discuss more legal questions before the trial.
CNBC:
Manafort faces seven counts in his second trial on charges brought by Mueller's team, including conspiracy to launder money, witness tampering and lying to the government. That trial is set to begin jury selection on Sept. 17, with opening statements scheduled to start a week later.
Collusion probe off limits in second Manafort trial, U.S. judge rules (Reuters)
Judge denies Manafort's request to move next trial from DC to Virginia (CNN)