Special counsel Robert Mueller has asked for more time to decide whether he and his prosecutors will attempt to retry Paul Manafort on 10 criminal counts that caused the Virginia judge to okay a partial verdict. The latest from the desk of the special counsel indicates that Mueller may not be entirely satisfied with the how things panned out in Judge T.S. Ellis III‘s Eastern District of Virginia courtroom, as he has reserved the right to request more time to make his next move. “The United States of America, by and through Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III, hereby files this motion to extend the date by which the government must notify the Court whether it intends to retry or dismiss any or all of [10] Counts […] in the Superseding Indictment,” the Wednesday filing reads. Indeed, the Virginia jury could not come to a concensus on the counts referenced above because of a lone holdout. The jury found Manafort guilty on five tax fraud counts, two bank fraud counts and one count for failing to report foreign financial accounts. Jurors could not come to a consensus on three additional counts of failure to report; nor could they decide on the remaining seven bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy counts against Manafort. The reason this request was able to happen — with the approval of Manafort’s defense attorneys, no less — is that the defense asked for 30 days after the jury’s guilty verdict to explore post-trial motions. Team Mueller did not oppose this, but in return Team Manafort is not opposing Mueller’s motion. “Because the defendant’s post-trial motions have not been filed or ruled on, 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,” the filing continues. In other words, Mueller et al. are going to wait and see how Manafort’s attorneys intend to proceed before they will make a decision on retrial or dismissal of the 10 counts in question. Mueller consequently asked the court for 10 days to respond to Manafort’s post-trial motions, since today was the original deadline set by Judge Ellis. The special counsel said it has spoken with Manafort’s attorneys and they do not object to this extension. Manafort’s second trial, the one in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to begin on Sept. 24. [Image via Alex Wong/Getty Images] Have a tip we should know? [email protected]<doc-sep>A federal district court judge on Thursday agreed to give the federal prosecutor with special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerSenate Democrats urge Garland not to fight court order to release Trump obstruction memo Why a special counsel is guaranteed if Biden chooses Yates, Cuomo or Jones as AG Barr taps attorney investigating Russia probe origins as special counsel MORE's team more time to decide whether to retry former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortLegal intrigue swirls over ex-Trump exec Weisselberg: Five key points There was Trump-Russia collusion — and Trump pardoned the colluder Treasury: Manafort associate passed 'sensitive' campaign data to Russian intelligence MORE on the remaining counts from his trial in Virginia. Manafort was convicted on eight counts of tax and bank fraud last week, but the judge was forced to rule a mistrial on the remaining 10 counts after the jury failed to come to a consensus. ADVERTISEMENT Judge T.S. Ellis III, of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, originally gave prosecutors until Wednesday to decide if they were going to retry Manafort on the charges or dismiss them, but on Wednesday the government asked for more time since Manafort's defense team had asked for 30 days from the Aug. 21 verdict to file motions for acquittal or appeal. "Because the defendant’s post-trial motions have not been filed or ruled on, 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," the prosecutors said. On Thursday, Ellis allowed the extension of the deadline to one week after the court has ruled on the defense team's post-trial motions. This developing story will be updated.<doc-sep>In a filing to Judge T.S. Ellis III, special counsel Robert Mueller’s team noted that they’re still waiting for Paul Manafort’s team to file post-trial motions and for those to be resolved. | T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images Mueller team seeks more time to decide if they'll retry Manafort on deadlocked charges Special counsel Robert Mueller has asked for more time to decide whether to retry former Trump campaign Chairman Paul Manafort on 10 bank and tax fraud charges that an Alexandria, Virginia, jury failed to resolve earlier this month. In a filing to Judge T.S. Ellis III, Mueller’s team noted that it is still waiting for Manafort’s team to file post-trial motions and for those to be resolved. “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,” prosecutors wrote. They noted Manafort’s team had no objection to the delay. If Ellis agrees, the decision means it’s unclear whether Manafort, who was already convicted on eight counts, could face even more legal proceedings following a second criminal trial that begins later this month in Washington to deal with charges related money laundering and his work for foreign governments. Though the Alexandria jury convicted Manafort on some of the bank fraud, tax fraud and conspiracy charges he faced, a single juror opposed conviction on the remaining 10 counts, resulting in a mistrial on those charges. The delay in the decision would have little effect on Manafort’s legal jeopardy; he’s already facing a lengthy prison term for the other convictions, in addition to penalties he may face after his second trial.<doc-sep>His lawyers also said that Manafort has "become an unwilling player in the larger drama between Mr. Mueller and President Trump" — an association made worse by Trump weighing in on the trial. "A fair trial will be impossible without a change of venue to a more neutral and less media saturated locale," Manafort's lawyers argued in the motion, which was made public Wednesday. Manafort is asking that the trial on money laundering and other charges, which is due to begin jury selection on Sept. 17, be transferred more than 200 miles away to U.S. District Court in Roanoke, Virginia. The lawyers cited the extensive and largely negative publicity the trial has generated for Manafort, as well as a botched tweet by the president about the case. Lawyers for Paul Manafort suggested President Donald Trump is making it harder for his ex-campaign boss to get a fair trial as they asked a judge to move his next case on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller out of a Washington, D.C., federal court. Trump has repeatedly blasted Mueller's probe into Russian interefence in the 2016 presidential election, and possible collusion by Trump's campaign, as a "witch hunt." The defense team also noted that nearly 91 percent of the votes cast in the presidential election in D.C. went to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, with Trump garnering just 4.1 percent of the votes. "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," Manafort's lawyers wrote. "This split is more balanced in other places such as Roanoke, Virginia, located in the Western District of Virginia." The request to move the trial comes a week after Manafort was convicted of eight tax and banking fraud charges after his first trial in Alexandria, Virginia. That case was also lodged by Mueller. Manafort's lawyers had asked in July that that first trial on bank fraud and tax charges also be moved to Roanoke. That request also had cited negative publicity as the main reason to move the trial. But the request was denied. Judge Amy Berman Jackson told Manafort's attorneys during a hearing Tuesday that she did not want to prejudge their planned request to move the trial, but also noted that the D.C. federal court has handled high-profile cases in the past. Jackson also pointed out that a questionnaire for prospective jurors could "enable us to find a fair and impartial jury." In their motion, the defense lawyers lawyers blamed Trump himself for some of the intense media coverage Manafort has received throughout his legal troubles. Trump weighed in on the D.C. case after Jackson on June 15 revoked Manafort's $10 million release bond and ordered him to be detained pending his trials. "Wow, what a tough sentence," Trump tweeted at the time. Tweet In their request on Wednesday, Manafort's lawyers noted that Trump's language wrongly suggested that Manafort had been sentenced for committing a crime during that hearing. "This Court revoked Mr. Manafort's release and remanded him into custody," Manafort's lawyers wrote in their motion. "This event unleashed a spate of intensely negative news coverage suggesting that Mr. Manafort violated the law. Indeed, even the President's response on Twitter; observed that Mr. Manafort received a 'tough sentence,' incorrectly suggesting that Mr. Manafort had been sentenced for committing a crime." In fact, Manafort's bail had been revoked after U.S. attorneys filed an indictment alleging that he and Russian citizen Konstantin Kilimnik had attempted to tamper with potential witnesses in the case. The longtime Republican operative is accused in the Washington case of money laundering, failing to register as a foreign agent and witness tampering. Both the D.C. case and the one in Virginia relate to consulting work Manafort, 69, did for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine, along with his then-associate, Rick Gates. That work predated the hiring of both men by the presidential campaign of Trump in 2016. Gates earlier this year pleaded guilty to making false statements and conspiracy against the United States after being charged by Mueller along with Manafort. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is being held without bond in an Alexandria jail. Mueller is scheduled Wednesday to file paperwork in the Virginia case to inform the judge there whether he intends to retry Manafort on the remaining 11 criminal counts on which jurors were unable to reach a verdict.<doc-sep>
FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort departs from U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday asked a judge for more time to decide whether to retry former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on 10 criminal charges that a jury deadlocked on last week. Wednesday was Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s deadline to decide but the government said that Manafort lawyers’ request for a 30-day extension to file their post-trial motions made it difficult to meet that deadline. The prosecutors said in a filing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, that they would like the deadline extended to one week after the court has ruled on Manafort’s motions. Manafort’s lawyers do not object to a delay, the prosecutors said. The charges include seven counts of bank fraud and three counts of failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. “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,” prosecutors wrote. Manafort was found guilty on eight counts, including all five charges that he submitted false tax returns. The jury deadlocked on 10 charges because of a holdout juror. The charges largely predated Manafort’s brief tenure on Republican Trump’s campaign in 2016. The verdict was the first courtroom victory arising from Mueller’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and possible coordination with Trump campaign members. Russia denies interfering in the election and U.S. President Donald Trump denies any campaign collusion. In a second trial in Washington scheduled for next month, Manafort, a longtime lobbyist and Republican political consultant, faces seven criminal counts that include allegations of money laundering and obstruction of justice. Manafort’s lawyers are seeking to move the trial to Roanoke, Virginia, arguing they could not get a fair trial in Washington because of negative media coverage and a political bias against their client.