Special counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors filed evidence late Friday afternoon to demonstrate that Paul Manafort violated a court-mandated gag order by contributing to an op-ed defending himself in a Ukrainian newspaper.
In a 41-page filing, prosecutors argue that Manafort, who is on trial for charges including money laundering and failing to file as a foreign agent, spent half an hour editing a column defending him written by former Ukrainian official Oleg Voloshyn.
The op-ed, published over Mueller’s objections in the Ukrainian Kyiv Post, condemns American media who “falsely claim that Paul Manafort lobbied Russian interests in Ukraine” in service of the “dubious goal of undermining Trump’s presidency.”
Mueller’s prosecutors argue that Manafort’s work on the op-ed violates the order Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued in November, when she ordered all parties to “refrain from making statements to the media or in public settings that pose a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to this case.”
They have not sought additional charges related to the violation, but are using it to argue Manafort should remain under house arrest, where he has been detained since October 30.
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01.22.2025