WASHINGTON (AP) – Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort made several attempts to tamper with witnesses in his ongoing criminal case, prosecutors said Monday as they asked a federal judge to consider jailing him while he awaits trial.
In a court filing, prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller wrote that Manafort and one of his associates “repeatedly” contacted two witnesses in an effort to influence their testimony. The contacts occurred earlier this year, shortly after a grand jury returned a new indictment against Manafort and while he was confined to his home.
The filing marks the second time that Mueller’s team has accused Manafort of violating a judge’s order in the case. Late last year, federal agents discovered that Manafort was attempting to ghostwrite an opinion piece in Ukraine even though he was under a gag order in the case.
The allegations of attempted witness tampering relate to Manafort’s criminal case in Washington where he faces charges of money-laundering conspiracy, false statements and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Ukrainian interests. He also faces bank fraud and tax evasion charges in Virginia.
The charges – they involve tens of millions of dollars routed through offshore accounts – do not relate to his work on the Trump campaign or involve allegations of Russian election interference.