Manafort defense blasts indictment as based on 'tenuous legal theory' [View all]
Source: Politico
Filing also notes Ukraine work predated his Trump campaign role by two years
By JOSH GERSTEIN 11/02/2017 11:45 AM EDT
Lawyers for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort argued Thursday that the case against him is based on dubious legal theories and that there is no need for him to post millions of dollars in collateral to ensure he will appear for trial.
Manafort's legal team filed its first substantive pleading in the criminal case, arguing that prosecutors constructed a money laundering case against Manafort and his business partner Rick Gates because the real issue — whether they broke the law by failing to register foreign agents for Ukraine — was too complicated.
"It is far from clear what activity triggers a requirement to file a report as a foreign agent. In order to conceal this weakness in the Indictment, a façade of money laundering has been put forth using a tenuous legal theory," lawyers Kevin Downing and Tom Zehnle wrote. "The weight of the evidence outlined against Mr. Manafort has also been embellished."
Manafort's attorney also said the Ukraine-related work that is the focus of the indictment was completed before the veteran lobbyist spent several months as Trump's campaign chief in mid 2016, though it is not clear why that is important to the court.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/02/paul-manafort-indictment-defense-reacts-244460?lo=ap_b1
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