Paul Manafort’s lawyers declare case against him ‘embellished’

Lawyers call federal case ‘embellished’

Lawyers defending President Trump’s former campaign chairman launched their first counterattack Thursday against the government’s charges of money laundering and conspiracy.

“This is a criminal trial. It is not a public relations campaign.” U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson

WASHINGTON – Lawyers defending President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort mounted their first counterattack against federal money laundering and conspiracy charges on Thursday, insisting that federal prosecutors had “embellished” the strength of their case.

Manafort and another former Trump aide, Rick Gates, have been under house arrest since Monday, when special counsel Robert Mueller unsealed a

12-count indictment tied to their work on behalf of a pro-Russian faction in Ukraine. The charges that both served as unregistered agents of a foreign government then laundered their profits into the United States are part of Mueller’s wide-ranging investigation into Russian efforts to influence the

2016 election.

Manafort’s lawyers, Kevin Downing and Thomas Zehnle, said in a court filing Thursday the case was overblown.

They said the laws governing Manafort’s work in Ukraine are unclear. The money laundering charges are just a “facade,” they added, noting that “in an international scheme to conceal assets, individuals generally move them offshore, not to the United States.”

Their response came the day Manafort and his associate Gates appeared briefly in federal court. U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson ordered that they stay on house arrest and GPS monitoring at least through the weekend, saying she had “concerns” that both men could be a flight risk.

Jackson made one exception Thursday: She said she would allow Gates to leave his home long enough over the weekend to attend a sports tournament for one of his children. She ordered both men to return to court Monday morning so she could consider the conditions of their release.

Jackson also warned attorneys for both men — and in Mueller’s office — not to discuss the case with reporters, and said she was considering issuing a gag order. “This is a criminal trial,” Jackson said. “It is not a public relations campaign.”

Thursday’s hearing ostensibly was a routine step to sort through the preliminary details of a complicated case. But it also offered both sides an opportunity to map out widely different assessment of the charges — and of the risk that Manafort and Gates will try to escape prosecution before they can stand trial.

Prosecutors argued in a court filing this week that charges are serious, the case is strong, and the risk that Manafort and Gates will flee before trial is significant. They said both men have “substantial” money at their disposal — though the government still has little idea precisely how much because their assets are so complex. Manafort holds three U.S. passports. Gates opened at least 55 bank accounts since 2004.

Manafort’s lawyers mocked the idea that he might flee. Manafort, they said, has known since August that he would be indicted and did not run. Nor would he, they wrote, “up and leave his wife of almost 40 years, his two daughters, and his grandchildren, so that he can live the rest of his life on the lam.”

Plus, they said, the intense publicity around Mueller’s investigation would leave him few places to hide. “It is fair to say that he is one of the most recognizable people on the planet today,” Downing and Zehnle wrote.

Jackson left in place Thursday a $10 million unsecured bond for Manafort and a $5 million bond for Gates.

Prosecutors estimated that if Manafort is found guilty of all charges, sentencing guidelines would call for him to spend between 12 and 15 years in prison.