Special Counsel Prosecutors Say They've Found New Evidence Of Criminal Activity By Paul Manafort
Paul Manafort
Special counsel prosecutors  say  they  have uncovered new evidence of alleged criminal activity by  former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort   according to a newly unsealed court filing Friday evening.
Lawyers from special counsel Robert Mueller's office wrote that they had learned new information about  Manafort  since the judge first ruled on a bail package that would allow him to leave home confinement  and were opposing  Manafort 's bid to modify those terms of release.
"That criminal conduct includes a series of bank frauds and bank fraud conspiracies " prosecutors wrote  including criminal conduct related to the mortgage on one of the properties that  Manafort  said  he  would agree to forfeit if  he  failed to show up to court.
Bank fraud was not part of the indictment returned by a federal grand jury against  Manafort  and  his  longtime associate and former senior Trump campaign official Rick Gates in late October. As of Friday evening  no new charges had been filed against  Manafort or Gates  on the public docket. Prosecutors wrote in the redacted document made public on Friday that they were prepared to present the new evidence they had found at a future bail hearing for  Manafort .
Manafort and Gates were charged with conspiracy to launder money  failing to report overseas bank accounts  failing to register as agents for foreign entities  and making false statements. Both pleaded not guilty  and  Manafort  has sued the Justice Department and Mueller  challenging the validity of Mueller's appointment as special counsel.
Since the indictment  the case has been tied up in fights over  Manafort  and Gates' conditions of release. They were both placed under home confinement at their first court appearance on Oct. 30  and spent the following months trying to have that house arrest lifted.
US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in mid-December that  Manafort  could go free if he met certain conditions  including agreeing to forfeit four properties if he failed to come to court  and living in Florida  abiding by an 11 p.m. curfew  and needing the judge's approval to travel elsewhere in the United States. But  Manafort  did not file the required paperwork to fulfill the judge's order  and on Friday filed a redacted version of a request he originally filed under seal dated Feb. 9 seeking to modify the judge's conditions.
 Manafort 's new request proposed putting up several different real estate properties  which  he  said were jointly valued at $10.05 million  and living in Alexandria  Virginia  instead of Florida. Jackson's December order required Manafort's wife and daughter to serve as sureties and certify that they had $7 million in cash or securities on hand in case the value of the real estate was less than $10 million  but  Manafort  in  his  new proposal asked to remove the surety requirement.
 Manafort 's latest proposal prompted a response from Mueller's team  which was filed with the court on Feb. 13 but not made public until Friday night. Prosecutors said  Manafort 's new bail proposal was worth less than $10 million  and warned that they had uncovered evidence that  Manafort  secured a mortgage for one of the properties "through a series of false and fraudulent representations" to the bank. They alleged that in 2015 and 2016  Manafort "provided the bank with doctored profit and loss statements" for his company  DMP International LLC  which overstated its income by "millions of dollars."
On the removal of the surety requirement  prosecutors wrote that  "The fact that  Manafort  has not been able to find any responsible surety to cosign a bond for this package suggests that neither those closest to  him   nor anyone else  is willing to assume the risk of being a surety for  him ."
Manafort's lawyer Kevin Downing did not immediately return a request for comment  and a spokesman for  Manafort  declined to comment.  Jackson  has ordered  Manafort  and Gates  their defense lawyers  and the prosecutors not to make public statements that could prejudice the case.
In a separate filing late Friday in  Manafort 's civil suit challenging the special counsel appointment  his lawyers said they brought the case "shortly after and in direct response to the Special Counsel’s threats to bring additional charges against Mr. Manafort in venues outside the District of Columbia." The filing didn't provide details on what exactly prosecutors may have told Manafort about the possibility of other charges in other courts.
Special counsel prosecutors  say  they  have uncovered new evidence of alleged criminal activity by  former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort   according to a newly unsealed court filing Friday evening.
Lawyers from special counsel Robert Mueller's office wrote that they had learned new information about  Manafort  since the judge first ruled on a bail package that would allow him to leave home confinement  and were opposing  Manafort 's bid to modify those terms of release.
"That criminal conduct includes a series of bank frauds and bank fraud conspiracies " prosecutors wrote  including criminal conduct related to the mortgage on one of the properties that  Manafort  said  he  would agree to forfeit if  he  failed to show up to court.
Bank fraud was not part of the indictment returned by a federal grand jury against  Manafort  and  his  longtime associate and former senior Trump campaign official Rick Gates in late October. As of Friday evening  no new charges had been filed against  Manafort or Gates  on the public docket. Prosecutors wrote in the redacted document made public on Friday that they were prepared to present the new evidence they had found at a future bail hearing for  Manafort .
[TGT] and Gates were charged with conspiracy to launder money  failing to report overseas bank accounts  failing to register as agents for foreign entities  and making false statements. Both pleaded not guilty  and  [TGT]has sued the Justice Department and Mueller  challenging the validity of Mueller's appointment as special counsel.
Since the indictment  the case has been tied up in fights over  Manafort  and Gates' conditions of release. They were both placed under home confinement at their first court appearance on Oct. 30  and spent the following months trying to have that house arrest lifted.
US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in mid-December that  [TGT]could go free if he met certain conditions  including agreeing to forfeit four properties if he failed to come to court  and living in Florida  abiding by an 11 p.m. curfew  and needing the judge's approval to travel elsewhere in the United States. But  [TGT]did not file the required paperwork to fulfill the judge's order  and on Friday filed a redacted version of a request he originally filed under seal dated Feb. 9 seeking to modify the judge's conditions.
 [TGT] 's new request proposed putting up several different real estate properties  which  [TGT]  said were jointly valued at $10.05 million  and living in Alexandria  Virginia  instead of Florida. Jackson's December order required Manafort's wife and daughter to serve as sureties and certify that they had $7 million in cash or securities on hand in case the value of the real estate was less than $10 million  but  Manafort  in  his  new proposal asked to remove the surety requirement.
 [TGT] 's latest proposal prompted a response from Mueller's team  which was filed with the court on Feb. 13 but not made public until Friday night. Prosecutors said  Manafort 's new bail proposal was worth less than $10 million  and warned that they had uncovered evidence that  Manafort  secured a mortgage for one of the properties "through a series of false and fraudulent representations" to the bank. They alleged that in 2015 and 2016  Manafort "provided the bank with doctored profit and loss statements" for his company  DMP International LLC  which overstated its income by "millions of dollars."
On the removal of the surety requirement  prosecutors wrote that  "The fact that  Manafort  has not been able to find any responsible surety to cosign a bond for this package suggests that neither those closest to  him   nor anyone else  is willing to assume the risk of being a surety for  him ."
Manafort's lawyer Kevin Downing did not immediately return a request for comment  and a spokesman for  Manafort  declined to comment.  Jackson  has ordered  Manafort  and Gates  their defense lawyers  and the prosecutors not to make public statements that could prejudice the case.
In a separate filing late Friday in  Manafort 's civil suit challenging the special counsel appointment  his lawyers said they brought the case "shortly after and in direct response to the Special Counsel’s threats to bring additional charges against Mr. Manafort in venues outside the District of Columbia." The filing didn't provide details on what exactly prosecutors may have told Manafort about the possibility of other charges in other courts.