Manafort scolded, given trial date
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman was reprimanded by a federal judge Wednesday for speaking publicly in violation of her gag order in his criminal case.
The rebuke of Paul Manafort came as he pleaded not guilty to the latest charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigators.
Manafort appeared in federal court to enter a plea to a second indictment accusing him of acting as an unregistered foreign agent and directing an international money-laundering conspiracy stemming from his political work in Ukraine.
It was his first court appearance since his codefendant and longtime associate, Rick Gates, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Manafort had previously pleaded not guilty in the case, but the latest indictment, which mirrored the charges filed against him in October, required him to formally enter a second plea.
During the hearing, Judge Amy Berman Jackson set a Sept. 17 trial date for Manafort and reprimanded him for making a public statement last week about Gates’ plea. She said his statement violated an order she put in place early in the case, which bars Manafort, the prosecution and witnesses from making public statements that pose a “substantial likelihood” of prejudicing potential jurors.
If it happens again, the judge could hold him in contempt.
Manafort’s statement last week took aim at the prosecution, saying Gates’ plea didn’t change his commitment to defend himself against “the untrue piled-up charges contained in the indictments against me.” He also said he had “expected” Gates would have had “the strength to continue the battle to prove out innocence.”
Manafort is due back in court this week, this time in Virginia, where he faces an indictment involving bank fraud and tax charges.