Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been accused of lying to the FBI in violation of his plea agreement, Manafort refutes the allegation, and elusive “Russian collusion” still nowhere in sight.
The FBI claims that lobbyist and political consultant Paul Manafort lied to the government “on a variety of subject matters". The accusation implies that Manafort has acted in violation of his plea agreement with the government in September which required him to "fully, truthfully, completely, and forthrightly" cooperate with the investigation.
The plea deal Manafort agreed to would allow him to serve only 10 years of the possible 80 he was facing, as well as negate the need for a second trial. Mueller’s joint statement indicates that new sentencing dates are to be set “without delay”, despite Manafort’s claim that he has been telling the truth.
“After signing the plea agreement, Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel’s Office on a variety of subject matters, which constitute breaches of the agreement," Mueller’s office stated.
Manafort’s attorney’s responded that their client “provided information to the government in an effort to live up to his cooperation obligations. He believes he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the government’s characterization or that he has breached the agreement."
Manafort was convicted on 8 counts in September in the Eastern District of Virginia for failure to register as a foreign agent in light of his political connection to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, alongside charges of tax-evasion, conspiracy and lying to federal agents.
What exactly this has to do with Mueller’s investigation of alleged President Donald Trump’s “Russian collusion” has not yet exactly been made clear, considering that the charges against Manafort have no connection to the 2016 election, deal with Ukraine and not Russia, and the fact that even within the scope of Manafort’s lobbying efforts he pushed for a pro-EU and pro-NATO agenda. Manafort even met with former president Obama and vice-president Biden to deliver a message of “not letting the Russians steal Ukraine from the west.”
As Mueller’s probe continues to come up short on expectations proving the endlessly hyped accusation of collusion, investigators have been forced to double-down on those who have been implicated, even if their ability to connect Trump with Russia ends up looking like a game of “several degrees of separation”. The white house has continued to highlight the fact that the indictment has nothing to do with Trump himself.
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