Justice Dept lawyer says Manafort may have served as 'back channel' to Russia: report

Source: The Hill | April 19, 2018 | Avery Anapol

A Justice Department lawyer said Thursday that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is being investigated as a possible “back channel” to Russia.

At a hearing, federal prosecutors defended special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election, arguing that Mueller did not exceed his authority by indicting Manafort on charges related to his pre-campaign work.

Michael Dreeben, an attorney for the Justice Department, told U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson that part of Mueller’s probe into Manafort is investigating whether the former campaign chair provided “back channels” to Russia, according to Bloomberg.

“He had long-standing ties to Russia-backed politicians,” Dreeben said. “Did they provide back channels to Russia? Investigators will naturally look at those things.”

Prosecutors said earlier this month in a court filing that Mueller’s investigation, by nature of investigating connections between the Trump campaign and Russia, would “naturally cover ties that a former Trump campaign manager had to Russian-associated political operatives, Russian-backed politicians, and Russian oligarchs.”

…….

Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)
Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.