Attorneys for Paul Manafort asked a federal judge Wednesday to move his second criminal trial from Washington, D.C., to Roanoke, Virginia, claiming that “sensationalized” publicity surrounding the former Trump campaign chairman has made it nearly impossible for him to receive a fair trial.
In court papers, defense attorneys said negative media coverage of Manafort “reached new heights” following his conviction last week on eight counts of financial fraud in Alexandria, Virginia. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 12.
“The conclusion of that trial, less than four weeks prior to the start of jury selection in this case, presents new and increasingly difficult challenges to Mr. Manafort’s effort to ensure a fair jury and fair trial in this case,” wrote Manafort attorney Kevin Downing.
Manafort was the first person convicted of charges emerging from special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into possible Russian collusion with the Trump presidential campaign. Although the Virginia trial barely mentioned President Trump or issues relating to the campaign, Manafort’s legal said the news media “barely goes a day” without connecting their client to the Russia investigation.
“The reporting on this prosecution has often been sensationalized and untethered from the facts of the case,” Mr. Downing wrote.
Manafort faces charges of lying to federal investigators and failing to register as a foreign agent.
Roanoke’s population tilts decidedly more conservative than Washington, D.C. In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton captured 92.8 percent of the D.C. vote compared to 4.1 percent for Mr. Trump, according to The Associated Press. In contrast, Mr. Trump won Roanoke County with 61.5 percent of the vote, nearly double the 33.5 percent who cast their vote for Ms. Clinton. However, Ms. Clinton won Roanoke City with 56.1 percent of the vote, an 18 percent lead over Mr. Trump’s 38.5 percent.
“It is not a stretch to expect that voters who supported Secretary Clinton would be predisposed against Mr. Manafort or that voters who supported President Trump would be less inclined toward the Special Counsel,” Mr. Downing wrote, adding later, “Nowhere in the country is the bias against Mr. Manafort more apparent than here in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.”
Manafort’s attorneys had also asked for his Alexandria trial to be relocated to Roanoke because of similar concerns of jury bias.
That request was denied by District Judge T.S. Ellis III.
The filing comes the same day prosecutors with Mr. Mueller’s team requested more time to decide whether they want to seek a retrial for the 10 criminal counts jurors in the Virginia trial were deadlocked.
Prosecutors said they needed the extension because Manafort’s post-trial motions have either not been filed or ruled on. They asked for an extra week to decide if they want to pursue the remaining charges.
“The government does not at this time have sufficient information to make an informed decision on whether it will seek retrial of the remaining counts,” Mueller’s team said in court filing.
Manafort’s lawyers did not object to the extension request, according to court documents.
On Tuesday, Manafort’s legal team scored a victory when District Judge Amy Berman Jackson agreed to push the Washington, D.C., trial back by one week to Sept 24.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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