Special Counsel Robert Mueller says Paul Manafort has broken the terms of his plea agreement, lying repeatedly to investigators, and the court should go ahead and sentence him for the crimes he has committed.
From the court filing via BuzzFeed News' Zoe Tillman:
Manafort, according to the joint status report, "believes he has provided truthful information."
Given the impasse between the two sides, Mr. Manafort asked that Judge Jackson set a sentencing date.
The dramatic development in the 11th hour of Mr. Manafort’s case means, at a minimum, that prosecutors will not ask for a lighter punishment in return for his cooperation. They could also conceivably seek to refile bank fraud charges that they agreed to dismiss as part of the plea agreement.
The prosecutors did not describe what Mr. Manafort lied about, promising to file a sentencing memo that sets forth “the nature of the defendant’s crimes and lies.”
A jury in Northern Virginia convicted Mr. Manafort, 69, of eight counts of financial fraud in August stemming from his work as a political consultant in Ukraine. Faced with a second trial in the District of Columbia on related charges in September, he pleaded guilty to two conspiracy counts and to an open-ended arrangement requiring him to answer “fully, truthfully, completely and forthrightly” questions about “any and all matters” of interest to the government.
Without a motion from prosecutors asking for leniency, Mr. Manafort is expected to face a prison term of at least 10 years for his crimes. He is scheduled to be sentenced in the Northern Virginia case on Feb. 8.
Manafort Breached Plea Deal by Repeatedly Lying, Mueller Says (NYT)