(JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
Oh, the legal troubles for Paul Manafort are far from over. Not only is he facing up to 80 years in prison for 8 counts he was convicted of in a Virginia federal court, he is facing a separate trial in D.C. for a slew of new charges.
In this second trial, scheduled to start September 17th, Manafort faces a variety of charges including conspiracy to launder money, tampering with and conspiring to tamper with witnesses, failure to disclose foreign lobbying work and making false Foreign Agents Registration Act statements. Central to many of these claims is the work Manafort did on behalf of the Ukrainian government — work he hired Biglaw firm Skadden Arps to do.
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According to the indictment, Manafort hired a law firm (known to be Skadden) to write a memo justifying the prosecution of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s political rivals. As Law.com reports, the government is following the money used for that legal work:
Manafort allegedly used at least $4 million from an offshore account to pay Skadden for the report. They also paid $1 million to one of the public relations companies to “create and implement a roll-out plan for the report,” as Manafort and his longtime business associate Rick Gates sought to sway public opinion of Viktor Yanukovych, the former prime minister.
Now we know, thanks to the government’s proposed evidence list, that 2012 and 2013 invoices from Skadden, as well as communications between Manafort and former Skadden counsel Greg Craig and Skadden partner Ken Gross are anticipated to play a role in the trial. Along with 2,000 other potential trial exhibits.
A (now former) Skadden associate, Alex van der Zwaan, has already pleaded guilty to lying to investigators in the Mueller probe. And the case against former counsel Craig for potentially acting as an unregistered lobbyist, has been referred to the S.D.N.Y.
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).