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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Manafort filing unmasks DOJ meeting with AP reporters, questions if 'grand jury secrecy' violated |
| 2018-07-09 |
| [FOX] Lawyers for ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort are raising concerns about a 2017 meeting between top law enforcement figures and Associated Press reporters, questioning whether "grand jury secrecy" was violated and revealing memos that say the reporters even offered investigators a "code" pertaining to their client’s storage facility. The details emerged in a series of recent filings, including an effort by Manafort's attorneys to get his criminal trial moved from Northern Virginia, citing pretrial publicity. "Mr. Manafort's legal issues and the attendant daily media coverage have become a theatre in the continuing controversy surrounding President Trump and his election," Manafort's lawyers wrote Judge T.S. Ellis, who is overseeing the bank and tax fraud case in Northern Virginia. A second prosecution, involving similar charges, is underway in Washington, D.C. Arguing for a trial in Roanoke, Va., Manafort's legal team said an "inside-the-beltway jury" would be biased against their client. But Manafort’s defense also is seeking a hearing on the April 2017 meeting involving FBI and Justice Department officials and four AP reporters ‐ after his team for months has argued that improper leaks to the media have put him at a disadvantage. The recent filing contains two newly disclosed FBI memos documenting the April 2017 meeting. It included three FBI agents; a Justice Department trial attorney; an assistant U.S. attorney and Andrew Weissmann, then chief of the DOJ’s fraud division before he moved on to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. The meeting also included four AP reporters: Chad Day, Jack Gillum, Ted Bridis and Eric Tucker. "The meeting raises serious concerns about whether a violation of grand jury secrecy occurred," Manafort’s lawyers wrote in the filing. "Now based on the FBI's own notes of the meeting, it is beyond question that a hearing is warranted." |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #1 Seems odd. Why would AP know about it unless someone snitched? How would it work its way over to DoJ? Seems like the DoJ is playing games here and found a patsy. |
| Posted by: gorb 2018-07-09 16:55 |