Collusion probe off limits in second Manafort trial, U.S. judge rules

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal judge overseeing the second trial of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chairman, ruled on Wednesday that a federal investigation of possible collusion between the campaign and Russia cannot be discussed during the trial.

The collusion investigation being led by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is “wholly irrelevant to the charges in this case,” Judge Amy Berman Jackson said during a pre-trial hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Manafort was convicted last month of charges including bank and tax fraud. Jackson said on Wednesday that while prosecutors may present evidence used in the first trial, the jury will not be allowed to hear about Manafort’s prior conviction.

She also said she plans to deny a request by Manafort’s defense attorneys to move the trial to different court, saying that concerns about the political affiliations of the jury pool in Washington, D.C., is “not a lawful basis” for a venue transfer.

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U.S. SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 / 11:43 AM / UPDATED 9 MINUTES AGO
Sarah N. Lynch
2 MIN READ


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-manafort/collusion-probe-off-limits-in-second-manafort-trial-u-s-judge-rules-idUSKCN1LL29G

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Good, less basis for appeal

and authorities are compartmentalizing these trials from one another, maybe to keep evidence from leaking one to another, and to keep the scope from widening and undermining the other parts of the investigations

[FreepFryer]

2. We will feed this to Trumpists whenever they crow that this trial has nothing to do with "collusion"

I’m cool with multiple investigations of these self-styled criminal “masters of the universe”. Bring em on.