Paul Manafort Rick Gates Back In Court For Bail Negotiations : NPR
Paul Manafort  Rick Gates Back In Court For Bail Negotiations
 Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a former top aide Rick Gates  were in court again on Monday to negotiate a bail agreement. The two have been confined to  their  homes since pleading not guilty to charges stemming from the Russia investigation.
Two of President Trump's former campaign aides were back in court today   former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy  Rick Gates .  They  face money laundering and other charges as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. NPR's Ryan Lucas was in the courtroom earlier today  and he's with us now. And Ryan   Manafort  and Gates were indicted at the end of October. Why were they back in court today?
RYAN LUCAS  BYLINE: Well  today's hearing touched on a number of things. And there's one significant matter that is still being worked out  and that is a bail package for  Manafort . It's kind of weird that it's taken so long. Today the judge had questions about the assessed values of some of the real estate that  Manafort 's defense team has put forward in their proposed bail package.
Just over a week ago  it looked like  Manafort  had reached an agreement with the special counsel's office on a bail deal that would get him out of home confinement. A few days later  the special counsel's team says  hold on. You know  we've changed our mind. The reason for this  they said  was that  Manafort  was anonymously co-authoring an editorial with a Russian associate with ties - alleged ties to Russia's intelligence services.
SIEGEL: Let's focus on that for a moment. You're saying that after he was indicted   Manafort  has been in contact with someone who's linked to a Russian spy service. What more can you tell us about that?
LUCAS: Well  it is pretty weird  yes. There's - a quick reminder basically about what this is all about. So prosecutors say that  Manafort  helped ghost write an English-language op-ed for a Ukrainian newspaper. The editorial portrayed him in a favorable light. And Manafort's associates in Ukraine say that  Manafort  didn't really have much of a role in this. But in court papers that prosecutors filed on Friday  they provided an exhibit that showed specific changes that they say  Manafort  made to the draft. And they have the times that those changes were made.
Now  there are a host of problems with  Manafort 's actions according to prosecutors  but the big one is that it was a violation of the judge's gag order not to try the case in the press  in the public sphere. And for prosecutors  they also say that it raises questions about  you know  trust when it comes to his bail. Now  today Manafort's attorney defended the op-ed and said that since it was for a Ukrainian newspaper  it's not a big deal. Manafort's not on trial in Ukraine. He said Manafort's reputation is under attack in the press and that Manafort was just trying to set the record straight.
Paul Manafort Rick Gates Back In Court For Bail Negotiations : NPR
Paul Manafort  Rick Gates Back In Court For Bail Negotiations
 Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a former top aide Rick Gates  were in court again on Monday to negotiate a bail agreement. The two have been confined to  their  homes since pleading not guilty to charges stemming from the Russia investigation. Two of President Trump's former campaign aides were back in court today   former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy  Rick Gates. They  face money laundering and other charges as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. NPR's Ryan Lucas was in the courtroom earlier today  and he's with us now. And Ryan   Manafort  and Gates were indicted at the end of October. Why were they back in court today? RYAN LUCAS  BYLINE: Well  today's hearing touched on a number of things. And there's one significant matter that is still being worked out  and that is a bail package for  Manafort. It's kind of weird that it's taken so long. Today the judge had questions about the assessed values of some of the real estate that  Manafort 's defense team has put forward in their proposed bail package. Just over a week ago  it looked like  Manafort  had reached an agreement with the special counsel's office on a bail deal that would get him out of home confinement. A few days later  the special counsel's team says  hold on. You know  we've changed our mind. The reason for this  they said  was that  Manafort  was anonymously co-authoring an editorial with a Russian associate with ties - alleged ties to Russia's intelligence services. SIEGEL: Let's focus on that for a moment. You're saying that after he was indicted   Manafort  has been in contact with someone who's linked to a Russian spy service. What more can you tell us about that? LUCAS: Well  it is pretty weird  yes. There's - a quick reminder basically about what this is all about. So prosecutors say that  Manafort  helped ghost write an English-language op-ed for a Ukrainian newspaper. The editorial portrayed him in a favorable light. And Manafort's associates in Ukraine say that  Manafort  didn't really have much of a role in this. But in court papers that prosecutors filed on Friday  they provided an exhibit that showed specific changes that they say  Manafort  made to the draft. And they have the times that those changes were made. Now  there are a host of problems with  Manafort 's actions according to prosecutors  but the big one is that it was a violation of the judge's gag order not to try the case in the press  in the public sphere. And for prosecutors  they also say that it raises questions about  you know  trust when it comes to his bail. Now  today Manafort's attorney defended the op-ed and said that since it was for a Ukrainian newspaper  it's not a big deal. Manafort's not on trial in Ukraine. He said Manafort's reputation is under attack in the press and that Manafort was just trying to set the record straight.