Special Counsel Robert Mueller has accused the former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort of lying to federal investigators into the Russia probe, breaking the terms of the plea bargain he reached.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
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US President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to the FBI and special counsel investigators after pleading guilty to federal charges, according to a court filing on Monday.
Special counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing alleged collusion between the Trump 2016 election campaign and Russia, has accused Manafort of breaching his plea agreement.
In a new court filing, prosecutors said that after Manafort agreed to truthfully cooperate with the investigation, he "committed federal crimes" by lying about "a variety of subject matters." They are now asking a federal judge to set a date to sentence him.
Manafort is denying that he lied. His attorneys said in the same filing that he believes he "provided truthful information."
Manafort had been meeting with the special counsel's office since he pleaded guilty in September and agreed to cooperate. He remains jailed while awaiting his sentence. He faces multiple years in prison.
Political operator
Manafort, who has been a Republican political consultant for many years, made tens of millions of dollars working for pro-Kremlin politicians in Ukraine. He ran the Trump campaign as it took off in mid-2016.
In June 2016 he attended a Trump Tower meeting with a group of Russians offering damaging information on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in the presidential vote that November.
Since September of this year when he accepted a plea deal in return for reduced charges, Manafort has been cooperating with Mueller's inquiry.
Russia has denied US allegations it hacked Democratic Party emails and ran a disinformation campaign, largely on social media. Trump denies any campaign collusion and calls the investigation a political witch hunt.
Paul Manafort: Political insider
Paul Manafort was once at the helm of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. The political insider's dramatic fall from grace has culminated in a nearly four-year prison sentence.
Image: Reuters/R. Wilking
Longtime Republican adviser
Seen here on the campaign trail with then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016, Paul Manafort has been a fixture in Washington for decades. He worked for the campaigns of Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, as well as for unsuccessful 1996 candidate Bob Dole. Later, he began lobbying for foreign leaders in countries such as Saudi Arabia and for Russia-friendly politicians in Ukraine.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/M. Reinstein
History of working with dictators
His firm Manafort, Black and Kelly lobbied the US government on behalf of a number of unsavory characters including dictators like former Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovych and others. Lobbying for foreign countries requires registration with the Justice Department, which Manafort failed to do.
Image: Imago
Corruption allegations
Ukraine's government has accused Manafort of receiving illegal, off-the-record payments from its predecessor. Manafort was also accused of supporting the violent removal of protesters from Kyiv's Maidan Nezalezhnosti square during Ukraine's 2014 uprising. Dozens of demonstrators were shot by police.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Supinsky
Manafort's right-hand man
As Manafort's trial began, one of the key witnesses against him was Rick Gates (left), who cut a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller. Gates pleaded guilty in February 2018 and is cooperating with prosecutors. Gates has knowledge of Manafort's offshore bank accounts, his work for Ukraine and his relationship with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Vucci
Alleged witness tampering
In this photo from Manafort's consulting offices, Konstantin Kilimnik (left), who allegedly has ties to Russian intelligence, poses for a photo with Manafort and others. It is one of the few images known to exist of Kilimnik, who has been accused by the Mueller investigation of witness tampering.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Indicted by federal grand jury
After being indicted, Manafort was allowed to remain free on bail after posting a $10 million dollar bond. A judge sent him to prison when prosecutors accused him of attempting to tamper with the testimony of two witnesses. In prison, Manafort was given VIP treatment, which included a phone and a laptop.
Image: Getty Images/Alexandria Sheriff's Office
Sentenced to prison
On March 7, 2019, Manafort was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for tax fraud, bank fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. He was also ordered to pay more than $24 million in restitution. Manafort did not to testify during the trial, but after the verdict he said the ordeal had left him "professionally and financially in shambles."
