Mueller: Paul Manafort Told 'Discernible Lies' in Probe About Contacts With Trump Admin, Russians
According to a filing by the special counsel's team, Manafort lied about his his interactions with Russian-Ukranian political consultant Konstantin Kilimnik, as well as his contacts with officials in the Trump administration
U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to federal investigators about a payment and contacts with Trump administration officials, the U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
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The filing also said that Manafort, who maintains he has been truthful to Mueller, appeared before a grand jury twice.