Zippyjuan
08-29-2018, 12:35 PM
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/29/ex-trump-campaign-chief-paul-manafort-asks-to-move-mueller-case-trial.html
Lawyers for Paul Manafort suggested President Donald Trump is making it harder for his ex-campaign boss to get a fair trial as they asked a judge to move his next case on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller out of a Washington, D.C. federal court.
The lawyers cited the extensive and largely negative publicity the trial has generated for Manafort, as well as a botched tweet by the president about the case.
Manafort is asking that the trial on money laundering and other charges, which is due to begin jury selection on Sept. 17, be transferred more than 200 miles away to U.S. District Court in Roanoke, Virginia.
"A fair trial will be impossible without a change of venue to a more neutral and less media saturated locale," Manafort's lawyers argued in the motion, which was made public Wednesday.
His lawyers also said that Manafort has "become an unwilling player in the larger drama between Mr. Mueller and President Trump" — an association made worse by Trump weighing in on the trial.
The request to move the trial comes a week after Manafort was convicted of eight tax and banking fraud charges after his first trial in Alexandria, Virginia. That case was also lodged by Mueller.
Manafort's lawyers had asked in July that that first trial on bank fraud and tax charges also be moved to Roanoke. That request also had cited negative publicity as the main reason to move the trial. But the request was denied.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson told Manafort's attorneys during a hearing Tuesday that she did not want to pre-judge their planned request to move the trial, but also noted that the D.C. federal court has handled high-profile cases in the past.
Jackson also pointed out that a questionnaire for prospective jurors could "enable us to find a fair and impartial jury."
In their motion, the defense lawyers lawyers blamed Trump himself for some of the intense media coverage Manafort has received throughout his legal troubles.
Trump weighed in on the D.C. case after Jackson revoked Manafort's $10 million release bond and ordered him to be detained pending his trials on June 15. "Wow, what a tough sentence," Trump tweeted at the time.
More at link.
Lawyers for Paul Manafort suggested President Donald Trump is making it harder for his ex-campaign boss to get a fair trial as they asked a judge to move his next case on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller out of a Washington, D.C. federal court.
The lawyers cited the extensive and largely negative publicity the trial has generated for Manafort, as well as a botched tweet by the president about the case.
Manafort is asking that the trial on money laundering and other charges, which is due to begin jury selection on Sept. 17, be transferred more than 200 miles away to U.S. District Court in Roanoke, Virginia.
"A fair trial will be impossible without a change of venue to a more neutral and less media saturated locale," Manafort's lawyers argued in the motion, which was made public Wednesday.
His lawyers also said that Manafort has "become an unwilling player in the larger drama between Mr. Mueller and President Trump" — an association made worse by Trump weighing in on the trial.
The request to move the trial comes a week after Manafort was convicted of eight tax and banking fraud charges after his first trial in Alexandria, Virginia. That case was also lodged by Mueller.
Manafort's lawyers had asked in July that that first trial on bank fraud and tax charges also be moved to Roanoke. That request also had cited negative publicity as the main reason to move the trial. But the request was denied.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson told Manafort's attorneys during a hearing Tuesday that she did not want to pre-judge their planned request to move the trial, but also noted that the D.C. federal court has handled high-profile cases in the past.
Jackson also pointed out that a questionnaire for prospective jurors could "enable us to find a fair and impartial jury."
In their motion, the defense lawyers lawyers blamed Trump himself for some of the intense media coverage Manafort has received throughout his legal troubles.
Trump weighed in on the D.C. case after Jackson revoked Manafort's $10 million release bond and ordered him to be detained pending his trials on June 15. "Wow, what a tough sentence," Trump tweeted at the time.
More at link.