Reporters tipped at Manafort's storage unit, according to an FBI agent

Prosecutors and FBI agents learned of the existence of a storage locker containing 30-year-old commercial records belonging to Paul Manafort of Associated Press journalists who were investigating him, a FBI agent testified in federal court. , testified on Friday that four PA employees met with a group of prosecutors and agents on April 11, 2017 to discuss the affairs of Manafort, the former president of President Donald Trump's campaign. The news agency later wrote about Manafort's business ties with Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch who would be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin

Six weeks after meeting with reporters, Pfeiffer interviewed a personal assistant from Manafort who gave him permission and a key to enter the locker and examine its contents. A day later, the officers came back with a search warrant and took most of the records, said Pfeiffer at a preliminary hearing in Alexandria, Virginia

Manafort, 69, before a trial on July 25 on bank and tax fraud. judge to reject the evidence obtained in this search on the ground that only Manafort, and not the employee, was authorized to give Pfeiffer his initial entry into the locker. US District Judge TS Ellis III stated that he would decide the case later

Judge's Rejection

Manafort made a similar request to remove the search for storage lockers in front of a federal court in Washington, where he is accused of money laundering. and the obstruction of justice. On Friday, Ellis also denied Manafort's request to hold a hearing on whether senior officials falsely disclosed grand jury documents prior to Manafort's first indictment in October 2017, including at the AP meeting. . journalists. Defense lawyers say the leaks tainted potential jurors by denigrating Manafort.

Defense attorney Kevin Downing said the solution for such leaks should be the dismissal of the case. Ellis rejected this appeal, saying the only other option was to move the lawsuit, for example in one of two cities in the East Virginia District, Roanoke or Richmond. He indicated that he was still looking into whether the leaks were irregular and gave Downing until July 6 to make such a request in writing.

Manafort, whose provisional release was revoked this month by the judge presiding over his Washington case, waived his right to attend the proceedings on Friday. He is being held at the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia, more than 80 miles south of Alexandria, and has asked to be excused from the hearing. His wife, Kathleen Manafort, attended the hearing

Manafort Assistant

At the hearing, Pfeiffer stated that Manafort employee, Alexander Trusko, was shopping for his boss and drove him. Trusko, who signed the lease, told Pfeiffer that he had transferred boxes of files and a binder into the unit from a smaller storage locker and from Manafort's home to Alexandria.

Trusko signed an FBI Research Consent Form. to take the evidence necessary for the investigation, said Pfeiffer. Rather than removing items, Pfeiffer photographed the boxes and the binder, and cataloged the contents on the outside of each box. He then consulted with US Department of Justice prosecutors in Washington and the Eastern District of New York, who was investigating Manafort at that time, he said