Special Counsel Robert Mueller claims that Paul Manafort, the former chairman for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, lied to the FBI and investigators “on a variety of subject matters,” which means he broke his plea agreement. NBC News continued:
Manafort, 69, was convicted of eight counts of tax evasion and bank fraud in August. In September, he agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation when he pleaded guilty to two new counts and admitted his guilt to 10 counts outstanding from the earlier trial in Virginia.On Monday, prosecutors with Mueller’s office told the court that “after signing the plea agreement, Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel’s Office on a variety of subject matters, which constitute breaches of the agreement.”The two-page document doesn’t say what the government believes Manafort lied about. But Mueller’s team said it would file a “detailed sentencing submission” detailing what they said were his “crimes and lies,” which could be filed unsealed.
Here is a screenshot of the document:
The plea agreement meant Manafort forfeited “multiple bank accounts and properties – including his apartment in Trump Tower in New York – and to cooperate with investigators by participating in interviews, providing documents and testifying in court.”
From The New York Times:
As it is, the plea agreement specifies that if prosecutors decide that Mr. Manafort has failed to cooperate fully or “given false, misleading or incomplete information or testimony,” they can prosecute him for crimes to which he did not plead guilty in the District of Columbia. They could also conceivably pursue the 10 charges on which the Virginia jury failed to reach a consensus. Mr. Manafort is scheduled to be sentenced in the Virginia case on Feb. 8.
The judge dismissed those 10 charges without prejudice.
Plus, breaking the plea agreement means that Mueller and his team “has no obligation to inform the court about any helpful cooperation he may have provided, which could have lessened his sentence.” The team can also present the “fact that Manafort admitted guilt” to those charges.
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