Last Tuesday, Robert Mueller sought to give immunity to five potential witnesses in the Paul Manafort trial according to a court filing.
Mueller filed the requests under seal; Manafort is facing charges of bank and tax fraud and his trial begins Wednesday in the Eastern District of Virginia.
In a ruling Monday, Judge T.S. Ellis, a Reagan appointee ordered Mueller to publicly name the five witnesses who got immunity–a huge blow to the Special Counsel.
The identities of the five witnesses were revealed Monday and Judge Ellis delayed Manafort’s trial until July 31st.
WaPo reported:
A federal judge in Alexandria has delayed the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort until July 31st.
Defense attorney Kevin Downing had argued that the trial, which was previously set to begin Wednesday, comes as his team is still struggling with tens of thousands of documents only recently provided by prosecutors.
“There are equities and good reasons on both sides,” Judge T.S. Ellis III said.
Ellis also approved and unsealed motions to compel five witnesses against Manafort to testify at trial: James Brennan, Conor O’Brien, Donna Duggan, Cindy Laporta, Dennis Raico.
Dennis Raico was previously affiliated with Federal Savings Bank (FSB), a small Chicago bank that provided Manafort with $16 million in loans shortly after Manafort left the Trump campaign, reported Talking Points Memo.
Fox News’ Tucker Carlson announced last Thursday evening that two separate sources confirmed to him Mueller offered Tony Podesta immunity, however; Podesta was not named in the unsealed documents Monday. Podesta was reportedly given immunity in the DC case where Manafort is being charged for failing to file a FARA form for his Ukrainian lobbying efforts.
Manafort is being charged with failing to file a FARA form for his pro-Ukrainian lobbying efforts and other bank fraud and tax fraud charges.
None of the charges against Manafort have anything to do with ‘Russian collusion’ during the 2016 presidential election.
More on the witnesses granted immunity…
Motions just unsealed re: Donna Duggan, Conor O’Brien, and Cindy Laporta pic.twitter.com/Q7TnRksqto
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) July 23, 2018
Other unsealed motions for use immunity witnesses James Brennan and Dennis Raico pic.twitter.com/uoWEIzfrCy
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) July 23, 2018
Brief description of the five witnesses:
Raico: bank lender
Brennan: broker
Laporta: accountant
O’Brien: accountant
Duggan: not sure.— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) July 23, 2018
Where is Podesta? Monday’s court case involves Manafort’s Alexandria, Virginia case for charges on tax and bank fraud.
Podesta will get immunity in the DC case [Ukrainian lobbying], says a lawyer on Twitter who goes by the name “Techno Fog.”
The EDVA case involves tax/bank fraud, which is actually easier to prove than the charges in the DC case.
My suspicion – and I think I’m right on this – is that Podesta will get immunity for the DC case.
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) July 20, 2018
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