Trump ex-aide broke plea deal by lying, judge rules

PAUL Manafort intentionally lied to investigators and a federal grand jury in the Russia probe, a judge has ruled.

The ruling by US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson was another loss for the former Trump campaign chairman, who faces years in prison in two criminal cases stemming from Robert Mueller’s investigation.

It hurts Manafort’s chance of receiving a reduced sentence, though the judge said she would decide the exact impact during his sentencing next month.

The order resolves a dispute that had provided new insight into how special counsel Mr Mueller views Manafort’s actions as part of his broader probe of Russian election interference and any possible co-ordination with associates of Donald Trump.

The judge found there was sufficient evidence to say Manafort broke his plea agreement by lying about three of five matters that prosecutors had singled out.

That included his misleading the FBI, prosecutors and a federal grand jury about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, his co-defendant who the FBI says has ties to Russian intelligence.

Prosecutors had accused Manafort of lying about his discussions with Kilimnik about a possible Ukrainian peace plan. Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said one of the discussions — a meeting on August 2, 2016 at the Grand Havana Club cigar bar in New York — went to the “larger view of what we think is going on” and what “we think the motive here is”.

“This goes, I think, very much to the heart of what the Special Counsel’s Office is investigating,” Mr Weissmann said, adding: “That meeting and what happened at that meeting is of significance to the special counsel.”

The meeting occurred while Manafort was still in a high-ranking role in the Trump campaign. Rick Gates, Manafort’s long time deputy and also a Trump campaign aide, also attended.

Prosecutors also accused Manafort of lying about sharing polling data with Kilimnik during the 2016 presidential campaign.