Former Trump campaign chairman lied to prosecutors, 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 separate criminal cases stemming from special counsel 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 four-page order resolves a dispute that had provided new insight into how Mr Mueller views Manafort’s actions as part of his broader probe of Russian election interference and any possible coordination with associates of US president 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. The meeting in 2016 occurred while Manafort was still in a high-ranking role in the Trump campaign.