Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort appears in federal court
Reporting by Rob Legare, Clare Hymes and Kathryn Watson
President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort made his first court appearance in months on Friday as prosecutors and defense lawyers argue over whether he intentionally lied to investigators, including about allegedly sharing polling data with a business associate the U.S. said has ties to Russian intelligence.
Manafort walked into court limping with a cane to walk to the counsel's table. The defendant remained stoic during the proceeding, nodding in agreement as his lawyer spoke. Judge Amy Berman Jackson said it would be "advantageous" to schedule arguments sooner rather than later, while facts are "fresh" in everyone's minds. Jackson has scheduled a sealed haring on Feb. 4 to hear arguments in order to rule on whether Manafort violated his plea agreement. The defense has conceded that the government acted in good faith, but at issue is whether Manafort's misstatements were intentional or not.
Manafort's appearance comes hours after former Trump associate Roger Stone was arrested at his home in Florida. Stone, who advised the Trump campaign in 2016, is accused of obstructing investigations into Russian election meddling. Stone is appearing in federal court in Florida later Friday morning. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders insisted the indictment has nothing to do with the president or the White House.
Earlier this month, attorneys for Manafort submitted a poorly redacted filing revealing that special counsel Robert Mueller has evidence that Manafort shared polling data during the campaign with an associate linked to Russian intelligence. Mueller also submitted a filing in November accusing Manafort of breaching his plea agreement with the special counsel's office by lying to federal investigators.
The special counsel said in a memo describing Manafort's alleged wrongdoing in December that Manafort's lies to federal investigators were not simply "memory lapses."
According to that memo, Manafort lied about several things in breach of his plea deal, including his contact with the associate linked to Russian intelligence, Konstantin Kilimnik, who ran Manafort's office in Kiev. Kilimnik was indicted in June. Much of the information about Kilimnik was redacted in the filing, although Manafort admitted he conspired with Kilimnik to obstruct justice.
— CBS News' Grace Segers contributed to this report
