Special counsel Robert Mueller says Paul Manafort told 'discernible lies,' including about contacts with his longtime translator and fixer, Konstantin Kilimnik, an employee who is believed to have Russian intelligence ties.
"Manafort told multiple discernible lies — these were not instances of mere memory lapses," Mueller's prosecutors wrote.
Here is the Mueller filing on Paul Manafort: [PDF LINK].
In the document, filed today by the Special Counsel's office in federal court in Washington, Mueller says the former Trump campaign manager lied about:
• Konstantin Kilimnik interactions
• Kilimnik's participation in count two of superseding information
• Wire transfer of funds to firm working for Manafort
• Info that relates to another DOJ investigation (???)
• Contact Manafort had with Trump admin officials
Manafort is accused of lying to federal investigators (never a wise idea) when he told prosecutors he never tried to communicate to anyone in the Trump administration.
But actually, the prosecutors say here, Manafort authorized someone to speak to an administration official on his behalf on May 26, 2018.
Trump's response, and that of journalists and lawyers who know better below.
Totally clears the President. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2018
CNN nutshell:
1) Cohen & Trump criminal activity accusation by SDNY.
2) More connection between Russia & Trumpworld than was known.
3) Continued investigation of WH in 2017 & 2018.
4) And Manafort lied about his contacts with the Trump administration. Which means they lied, too.— Karen DaltonBeninato (@kbeninato) December 7, 2018
Mueller also says Manafort lied about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, an associate who the FBI has said was connected to Russian intelligence. pic.twitter.com/Gk1B7g1MMY
— Brad Heath (@bradheath) December 7, 2018
eventual documentary title-ass tweet https://t.co/gX3ugVaIEG
— Simon Maloy (@SimonMaloy) December 7, 2018
Mueller's office says Manafort "authorized a person" to speak with a Trump administration official on May 26, 2018. https://t.co/4q9fWyTely
Entirely possible this is a coincidence but that's in the middle of a Trump pardon spurt. Jack Johnson on 5/24, Dinesh D'Souza on 5/31.
— Matt Berman (@Mr_Berman) December 7, 2018
TODAY:
-Cohen told Mueller that Trump wanted to meet with Putin early in the 2016 campaign
-Cohen dished on WH officials
-SDNY says Trump direct Cohen to make two illegal hush money payments during the campaign
-Manafort lies about his contacts with the WH
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 7, 2018
The president and his lawyer violated campaign finance laws to influence the outcome of the election while his campaign chair was meeting with an intelligence asset of a foreign government that was trying to influence the outcome of the election. Not very legal and very cool.
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) December 7, 2018
NBC News: Paul Manafort had contact with a "senior" Trump administration official in February of 2018 while under indictment, court filings say.
They say he lied in another Justice Department investigation outside of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) December 7, 2018
Even redacted, the Manafort filing looks awfully damning. The SCO is basically claiming that, for all the lies they allege, Manafort essentially either fessed up when confronted with evidence, or they've got what sounds like pretty ironclad proof.
— Julian Sanchez (@normative) December 7, 2018
What we know about the #PaulManafort memo:
1. He twice testified before a grand jury.
2. He repeatedly contacted Trump's admin. to keep them informed of his cooperation.
3. He conspired with suspected Russian intelligence Ofcr. to obstruct justice.
4. #Mueller has receipts.— Laura Coates (@thelauracoates) December 7, 2018
Here's what Mueller's office says Paul Manafort lied about:
– Contacts with Trump administration officials
– Interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik
– Something related to "Another DOJ Investigation"
– A $125K payment to an unnamed firm he worked withhttps://t.co/LkJO9ZjMEJ— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) December 7, 2018
Individual 1 is also dumber than a sack of hammers https://t.co/sJwjdgrmQm
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) December 7, 2018
Reuters: Special counsel Mueller says Cohen lied about potential Moscow development that could have brought Trump Organization "hundreds of millions of dollars from Russian sources," court filing
— Patrick deHahn (@patrickdehahn) December 7, 2018
Taken together, the Manafort and Cohen filings detail alleged contacts that are of interest to the Special Counsel with either people associated with the WH or directly with administration officials. That's a lot of contacts that the SCO is investigating.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) December 7, 2018
mueller mentions a Russian who reached out to Trump officials in November 2015. Here's the story on that, from @buzzfeednews @a_cormier_ @JasonLeopold @LoopEmma from June.
— mark seibel (@markseibel) December 7, 2018
Here's the WSJ story that described what is in the Manafort lies filing from earlier in the week: the big one is a Tom Barrack/Manafort meeting on a boat with Kilimnik. https://t.co/IY3NaZjWl4
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) December 7, 2018
