Paul Manafort appeared in federal court Friday for a hearing on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's allegations Manafort lied to prosecutors and breached the plea agreement that kept him from having to sit through a second trial.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson held the parties only for an hour and set a follow-up hearing for February 4th.
CNN:
Manafort, appearing in public for the first time since October, used a cane and sat slouched forward at the defense table. His hair is now virtually white. He was allowed to wear a suit rather than his dark green inmate uniform.
District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she will determine whether Manafort lied when he was cooperating with Mueller -- something that could impact a future prison sentence.
Berman Jackson asked special counsel prosecutor Andrew Weissmann to address if he plans to charge Manafort with additional charges related to his alleged breach of plea.
"We don't currently intend to do that," Weissmann said. But he did not rule out the possibility in the future.
Manafort could “hypothetically” be charged with lying to the FBI, with perjury in front of the grand jury, or with any of the charges prosecutors dropped in exchange for his plea and cooperation, Weissmann said.
The Friday hearing left for another day the merits of government’s allegation Manafort “intentionally provided false information” to investigators since pleading guilty in federal court in September.
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Jackson told a courtroom packed with news reporters she knew the decision to hold the February hearing behind closed doors would be unpopular, but said prosecutors needed to discuss sensitive matters regarding ongoing investigations and uncharged individuals, and that she did not see how the parties could address such topics in open court without making mistakes.
Jackson said the court would “Get as much of the transcript released, as possible, as soon as possible.”
“I have not made any decisions yet,” Jackson said, saying she found aspects of each side’s arguments compelling, while finding fault with others.
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She said Manafort’s arguments that criminal defendants often misstate the facts in debriefings and correct them later on “have some force.” While “investigators shouldn’t have to pull teeth” to get the truth, the judge said, “not all the issues rise to the level of actual false statements.” But, Jackson added, there are other instances where Manafort “affirmatively advanced a version of events” that prosecutors say was false. In those cases, she said, “he may have lied, pure and simple.
Mueller's office has no current plans for new charges against Manafort (CNN)
Paul Manafort faces sealed Feb. 4 hearing on Mueller probe allegations he lied after pleading guilty (WaPo)