Manafort seeks plea deal without special counsel cooperation: report

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is pushing for a plea deal that would keep him from having to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, ABC News reports.

Multiple media outlets have reported that Manafort, who was convicted of multiple charges last month, is in negotiations to reach a potential deal to avoid his second trial, coming up in Washington, D.C.

Citing sources familiar with negotiations, ABC News reported Wednesday afternoon that Manafort’s team is pushing for the deal not to include cooperation, at least as it relates to President Trump.

{mosads}Mueller’s office is reportedly seeking cooperation from Manafort for information related to Trump and the 2016 campaign.

Manafort was convicted last month in a federal district court in Virginia on eight counts of bank and tax fraud. He now faces seven additional charges in D.C., including conspiracy to launder money and failing to register as a foreign lobbyist.

Jury selection in the case is slated to start Monday, and the trial is scheduled to begin a week later.

On Tuesday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson moved a pretrial hearing in the case from Wednesday to Friday without any explanation. 

On Wednesday morning, Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Manafort’s family, said he could not comment on the reported negotiations.

Manafort attorney Kevin Downing did not respond to a request for comment, and the special counsel’s office declined to comment on the latest report from ABC News Wednesday afternoon.