Mueller: Trump's former campaign chair Manafort lied about funds, contacts
"In his interviews with the Special Counsel's Office and the FBI, Manafort told multiple discernible lies -- these were not instances of mere memory lapses," Mueller's office said in the filing.
By REUTERSThen-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as his campaign manager Paul Manafort (C) and daughter Ivanka (R) look on during Trump's walk through at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, US, July 21, 2016(photo credit: RICK WILKING / REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to federal investigators about a payment and contacts with Trump administration officials, the US special counsel investigating whether Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia said in a court filing on Friday.Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office submitted the filing to a US District Court judge in Washington who had asked for more details on Mueller's allegations last month that Manafort had breached a plea agreement by lying."In his interviews with the Special Counsel's Office and the FBI, Manafort told multiple discernible lies -- these were not instances of mere memory lapses," Mueller's office said in the filing.According to the filing, Manafort lied about his interactions with Russian-Ukranian political consultant Konstantin Kilimnik, Kilimnik's efforts to tamper with witnesses, the circumstances surrounding a $125,000 payment to a firm working for Manafort, and Manafort's contacts with officials in the Trump administration.Manafort also provided investigators with shifting accounts about information relevant to another Department of Justice investigation.The filing also said that Manafort, who maintains he has been truthful to Mueller, appeared before a grand jury twice.
