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Manafort expected to answer claims he lied to Mueller investigators

By Allen Cone
Paul Manafort arrives at federal court in Washington on June 15 to face arraignment on charges of witness tampering filed by special counsel Robert Mueller. Photo Ken Cedeno/UPI
Paul Manafort arrives at federal court in Washington on June 15 to face arraignment on charges of witness tampering filed by special counsel Robert Mueller. Photo Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is expected to answer claims Tuesday that he lied to members of the Justice Department's Russia investigation and broke a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Manafort is expected to address the claims at a hearing Tuesday. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson asked that defense and prosecution attorneys appear for a scheduling conference at 3 p.m.

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The judge also lifted a Wednesday deadline for Manafort's attorneys to answer a filing from special counsel Robert Mueller's office that details incidences in which it says Manafort lied. Last month, Mueller said Manafort "committed federal crimes" by lying to the FBI and Mueller's office "on a variety of subject matters."

In September, Manafort agreed to plead guilty to charges of unregistered foreign lobbying and money laundering in exchange for agreeing to cooperate with Mueller. A month earlier, Manafort was convicted on eight federal bank and tax fraud charges in Virginia, for which he will be sentenced in February.

With a violation, prosecutors could seek new charges. Manafort's attorneys have said their client did his best to provide useful and truthful answers.

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In the filing last week, Mueller's office said Manafort made false statements about contacts with the Trump administration. He also misled investigators in conversations about a separate Justice Department investigation and interactions with a Russian associate with ties to Moscow's intelligence services, Mueller's office said.

Manafort will answer the accusations in a filing this week, NBC News reported. He's being held in a detention center in Alexandria, Va.

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