Politics

Manafort Pleads Not Guilty To New Charges, Judge Sets Trial Date For September

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Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty Wednesday to new charges brought last week by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

During a hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson set a Sept. 17 date for Manafort’s trial.

The longtime Republican consultant faces a slew of conspiracy, money laundering, and bank fraud charges, largely related to his work as a consultant for a Ukrainian political party years before joining the Trump campaign.

Manafort pleaded not guilty in October to 12 counts of fraud and money laundering, but Mueller filed a superseding indictment last Thursday against him and his former business partner Rick Gates.

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Gates, who also worked on the Trump campaign, entered a plea deal with Mueller on Friday. He will seemingly cooperate with Mueller at Manafort’s trial.

Mueller’s focus on flipping Gates has led to speculation that prosecutors hope to force Manafort to turn against President Donald Trump, perhaps to share secrets about activities on the campaign. But so far, Mueller has not disclosed any evidence related to Trump campaign activities.

The indictments largely point to Manafort and Gates’ work for a Ukrainian political party liked to Viktor Yanukovych, the former prime minister of Ukraine and an ally of Vladimir Putin.

Mueller alleges that Manafort laundered millions of dollars in payments from the Ukrainian group into the U.S. through numerous shell companies he set up.

Manafort, like Trump, has denied that the campaign coordinated with the Russian government.

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