Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to prosecutors with special counsel Robert Mueller about matters close to the heart of their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, a federal judge ruled today.
The judge’s finding that Manafort, 69, breached his cooperation deal with prosecutors by lying after his guilty plea could add years to his prison sentence and came after a set of sealed court hearings.
Manafort had denied intentionally lying after his plea deal, but U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District found he lied in three of five areas alleged by prosecutors.
She said she would factor in his deception on other topics at sentencing March 13.
The special counsel’s office “has established by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant intentionally made multiple false statements to the FBI, [Mueller’s office] and the grand jury concerning matters that were material to the investigation,” Jackson wrote.
She specified Manafort’s lies included “his interactions and communications with [Konstantin] Kilimnik,” a longtime aide who the FBI assessed to have ties to Russian intelligence.
Manafort shared polling data during the 2016 presidential campaign with Kilimnik according to prosecutors.
Although the filing did not say whether the polling information was public or what was done with it, it raises the possibility that Russia might have used inside information from Trump’s Republican campaign as part of its effort to interfere with the election on Trump’s behalf.
The information was accidentally revealed in a defense filing that was meant to be redacted.
The Associated Press was able to review the material because it wasn’t properly blacked out.
Manafort was among the first Americans charged in Mueller’s investigation and has been among the central characters in the case, having led the campaign during the Republican convention and as, U.S intelligence officials say, Russia was working to sway the election in Trump’s favor.
Manafort has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in Washington and faces sentencing in a separate case in Virginia.