Lawyers for Manafort co-defendant due at sealed hearing asking to leave Mueller-probe case

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post




By Spencer S. Hsu February 7 at 6:00 AM

Lawyers for former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s co-defendant, Rick Gates, are asking a federal judge to leave the case in a motion set to be heard in a sealed hearing in Washington on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the District set the 10:30 a.m. hearing behind closed doors to preserve the secrecy of attorney-client communications.

Gates’s attorneys Shanlon Wu of Washington and Walter Mack and Annemarie McAvoy of New York on Thursday moved to withdraw as counsel in a shake-up in the pending prosecution by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

The shift could leave Gates, 45, with his third set of defense lawyers since he and his former employer, Manafort, 68, were indicted Oct. 30 on fraud, conspiracy and money-laundering counts in the first disclosed charges in Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in U.S. political affairs.

The timing of the change in lawyers comes as the prosecution enters a new phase preparing for trial.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/lawyers-for-manafort-co-defendant-due-at-sealed-hearing-asking-to-leave-mueller-probe-case/2018/02/06/a1cd2652-0b6e-11e8-95a5-c396801049ef_story.html

[machoneman]

1. It is odd....

...that he's burned through so many lawyers. I've posted long replies elsewhere and a few reasons why this is occurring. But now my short answer is he intends to lie some more or, caught by his own attorneys in lies, refuses to acknowledge them. Any competent lawyer would run for the hills if they suspect he will lie in court or ask them to lie for him.

I'll also add without any proof that he's coordinating these lies with Manafort and/or his team to avoid jail time.

As they say, time will tell!

[Upthevibe]

2. That is odd....

..but then it's all odd...

[appal_jack]

3. Isn't this a common delaying tactic too?

I think that your conclusions about Gates' chronic dishonesty probably do hit the mark, machoneman. But also, doesn't a new set of defense lawyers re-set the clocks of discovery and some other factors, delaying the progress of the trial?

-app

[getagrip_already]

4. since he can't afford any of them.....

Either the people who are paying have decided to pull the funds or he doesn't need super expensive lawyers anymore due to reduced legal peril.

When he was first indicted, he qualified for a public defender, which means he was essentially broke. They don't give those to guys who can afford multipl $1k/hr lawyers.

He's cut a deal with muehler. That changes his legal needs. But were these his last set or a new set since last week?

If these were his last set, then trump cut him off. No real mystery there. Trump was using his shell corps to funnel campaign/transition/inaugeral money to his lawyers and cut him off when he flipped.

[politicaljunkie41910]

6. Won't Trump need those campaign/transition/inaugural money for himself and his family's

own lawyers soon?

[leftynyc]

5. This is a story explained last week

These are defense attorney's. What's important is the lawyer that he still has - one whose expertise is in making plea deals.

http://www.businessinsider.com/rick-gates-lawyers-russia-investigation-paul-manafort-2018-2

Not sure why this story is coming up again other than today is the hearing to get those defense lawyers off the case.

[RandomAccess]

7. Thanks.

Saved me the trouble of finding something to explain it.