Manafort Lawyers Say Special Counsel Unable To Produce Evidence Of Russia Contacts

DC: The special counsel’s office has told lawyers for Paul Manafort that it does not have evidence of any contacts between the former Trump campaign chairman and Russian government and intelligence officials.

That’s at least according to Manafort’s attorneys, who disclosed details of the interactions in court papers filed on Monday night.

The lawyers say they want a hearing to look into government officials’ leaks to the media regarding Manafort, a longtime political consultant who has been indicted on money laundering and bank fraud charges.

“By their actions, it is self-evident that the objective of these government sources was to create unfair prejudice against Mr. Manafort and thereby deprive him of his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights,” wrote Manafort lawyers Kevin M. Downing and Thomas E. Zehnle.

The court filing, submitted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, lists seven news articles about the Manafort investigation that rely on U.S. government sources.

“The government-sourced leaks concerning surveillance of Mr. Manafort with foreign individuals is particularly troubling,” the attorneys wrote. read more