Manafort judge will not release names of jurors
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The judge in former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s fraud trial refused Friday to release the names of jurors, saying he has received threats and fears for their safety as well.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III revealed his concerns in explaining why he doesn’t intend to make jurors’ names public at the end of the trial, now headed into its third day of jury deliberations on Monday.
Shortly after the hearing, the jury sent a note to the judge asking to stop their second day of deliberations a half hour early on Friday, at 5 p.m., because a juror had an event to attend. The judge agreed.
A coalition of media organizations filed a motion requesting the names of jurors, as well as access to sealed transcripts of bench conferences that have occurred during the trial. Jury lists are presumed to be public unless a judge articulates a reason for keeping them secret.
Eliis said during a hearing Friday afternoon said he is concerned for the “peace and safety of the jurors.”
“I’ve received criticism and threats,” Ellis said. “I imagine they would, too.”
The judge said he is currently under the protection of U.S. marshals. He declined to delve into specifics, but said he’s been taken aback by the level of interest in the trial.
Also Friday, President Trump issued a fresh defense of Manafort, calling him a “very good person.”
Manafort is accused of hiding from the IRS millions that he made advising Russia-backed politicians in Ukraine, and then lying to banks to get loans when the money dried up. He faces 18 felony counts on tax evasion and bank fraud.
The financial fraud trial is the first courtroom test of the ongoing Russia probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller. While allegations of collusion are still being investigated, evidence of bank fraud and tax evasion unearthed during the probe has cast doubt on the integrity of Trump’s closest advisers during the campaign.