Special counsel Robert Mueller wants to give immunity to five potential witnesses against former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort, according to court papers filed Tuesday. That means that these witness could potentially testify against Manafort on July 25th, when his first trial begins in Virigina.
Robert Mueller wants immunity and identity protection for five people ready testify against Paul Manafort https://t.co/JXxMPa6sqo pic.twitter.com/rDiy5Kfzez
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 17, 2018
The court papers ask for “use immunity” which “prevents the prosecution from using the witness’s statements (“use”) or any evidence derived from those statements (“derivative use”) against the witness in a criminal prosecution.”
You can read the court document here.
Mueller has also offered immunity to Rick Gates, Paul Manafort’s former deputy, who is expected to testify his former boss.
The witnesses have not been named and have not been publicly identified in connection with the case, according to Mueller. The immunity motions have been requested to be sealed and remain that way unless they testify, citing the risk of “undue harassment” or “reputational harm” if their identities are made public.
These witnesses will be called for the first of Manafort’s two impending trials. This trial is related to tax evasion and bank fraud charges stemming from his business dealings and lobbying work for Ukrainians. His second trial is related to charges of conspiracy against the U.S., money laundering, being an unregistered foreign agent and failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.
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