Former Donald Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort held talks with prosecutors about making a plea to settle charges against him in Washington, D.C. – shortly before Trump inveighed against ‘flipping.’
Manafort faces a separate raft of charges in the D.C. jurisdiction. A Virginia jury convicted him of eight counts on another set of money laundering and tax fraud charges last week.
His team met with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s lawyers about resolving the second set of charges while the Virginia jury was deliberating over a four-day period, the Wall Street Journal reported.
There has been considerable media speculation that Manafort has much to tell should he ever reach a broad cooperation agreement with authorities. He helmed Trump’s campaign during the critical convention period, overseeing the delegate count.
Former Donald Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort held talks with prosecutors about making a plea to settle charges against him in Washington, D.C.
He is linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. According to prosecutors who searched Manafort’s home and got his emails, it was out of an effort to become ‘whole’ with the oligarch that Manafort offered to provide briefings on the Trump campaign.
In the D.C. trial, Manafort faces charges of failing to register as a foreign agent, obstruction of justice by lying to the FBI, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He set up a skein of offshore accounts to stash millions earned representing a pro-Moscow Ukrainian political party, according to the case laid out by prosecutors.
Trump last week inveighed against the practice of prosecutors enticing lower-level people facing criminal charges to ‘flip’ in order to get them to spill the beans on higher-ups.
President Donald Trump last week said ‘flipping’ by witnesses should perhaps be illegal
Michael Cohen, former lawyer to U.S. President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on eight counts last week
Manafort was found guilty of eight charges by a Virginia jury
‘It’s called flipping and it almost ought to be illegal,” Trump told Fox News.
“I know all about flipping, 30, 40 years I have been watching flippers. Everything is wonderful and then they get 10 years in jail and they flip on whoever the next highest one is or as high as you can go,’ Trump complained.
Trump popped off about flipping following the guilty plea of longtime lawyer Michael Cohen to eight criminal charges. He gets sentenced in December.
President Donald Trump waves to supporters in Ohio last week after he inveighed against ‘flipping’ by potential witnesses
CFO: Michael Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis said invoices were submitted to the chief financial officer – position held by Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg
News of Weisselberg’s immunity deal came a day after it was revealed American Media Inc. publisher David Pecker received immunity
‘It almost ought to be outlawed. It’s not fair,” Trump continued. “If you can say something bad about Donald Trump and you will go down to two years or three years, which is the deal he made, in all fairness to him, most people are going to do that. … And I have seen it many times. I have had many friends involved in this stuff. It’s called flipping and it almost ought to be illegal.”
In a week of bombshell revelations, it also came out that Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and National Enquirer CEO David Pecker each have been granted a form of immunity from prosecution.
Both feature in the saga of how Cohen paid $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels in a hush agreement, later to get reimbursed by the Trump Organization. Pecker hired former Playboy model Karen McDougal for $150,000, in a deal worked out with Cohen. Both women claim they had sexual affairs with Trump, which he denies.
It was not clear what charges Manafort sought to negotiate. His second trial starts Sept. 17th. He has likely racked up substantial legal fees, and could potentially face retrial on 10 charges to which the jury couldn’t reach a verdict in Virginia.
Manafort’s longtime deputy, Rick Gates, himself pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors during Manafort’s trial. But Manafort’s defense brought up false Gates covering up an affair, and one juror said the jury panel discounted his testimony.