Court refuses to dismiss case against Manafort

WASHINGTON : A federal judge on Friday dealt another blow to US President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, refusing to dismiss a money laundering charge brought against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s ruling was the latest setback for Manafort, whose charges stem from Mueller’s ongoing investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 US presidential election. Jackson a week ago ordered Manafort jailed after Mueller filed fresh charges against him over alleged witness tampering while he was under house arrest.

Manafort is facing indictments in both Washington and Virginia, with charges ranging from conspiring to launder money and failing to register as a foreign agent for the former pro-Russia Ukrainian government, to bank and tax fraud.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, none of which are related his work on Trump’s 2016 campaign. Mueller is probing whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow and if Trump has unlawfully sought to obstruct the Russia probe. REUTERS