A federal judge is considering a gag order in the case of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his top associate Richard Gates, and is for now keeping home confinement and GPS monitoring conditions in place for the men.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson expressed concern Thursday over the flight risks posed by the men and said she would revisit bond conditions set for both men on Monday. In the meantime, she approved an exception for Mr. Gates to attend his children’s sports games over the weekend.

Given the publicity the case has generated thus far — which the judge said appeared partially fueled by defense counsel’s disclosures — she is also considering whether or not to issue a gag order in the case. The judge asked both parties to file any objections to such a restriction by Tuesday, noting that anything the lawyers in the case have to say should be stated in the courtroom, “not on the courthouse steps.”

“This is a criminal trial, not a public relations campaign,” Judge Jackson said.

Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates stand accused of a scheme to provide lobbying services to a former pro-Russian government group in Ukraine.

The two men were indicted Monday on charges of failing to report their actions as foreign agents and laundering the payments they received for the work through companies and foreign bank accounts to avoid taxes. The indictment states that approximately $75 million was funneled through bank accounts the men controlled in Cyprus, Grenadines, Seychelles and England.

Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates are both currently being held on home confinement and required to check in daily with pretrial services by phone. A magistrate judge also approved special counsel prosecutors’ request to set a $10 million bond for Mr. Manafort and a $5 million bond for Mr. Gates, which they will be required to pay if they violate the court’s orders.

Both men appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Thursday where their attorneys had hoped those conditions could be modified. But the judge said proper motions were not filed in time for her to consider modifying the orders.

She expressed skepticism at a suggestion made by Mr. Manafort’s attorney, Kevin Downing, and Mr. Gates‘ attorney, Shanlon Wu, that their clients should not be subject to GPS monitoring or home confinement. The judge said the men’s assets and substantial ties abroad gave her concern they were flight risks.

“I am concerned in light of information I’ve been provided in the government’s memo that an unsecured bond is not sufficient,” Judge Jackson said. “If they leave and they don’t come back, we need to know where they went.”

In a court filing made ahead of Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors from Robert Mueller’s special counsel team argued that the men’s “substantial overseas ties, including assets held abroad, significant foreign work connections, and significant travel abroad” all create a substantial flight risk.

In detailing their concerns, prosecutors wrote in court filings that Mr. Manafort had three U.S. passports, and had a phone and email account registered under a fake name. They detailed his numerous foreign bank accounts and said authorities have had difficulty confirming the value of his assets. They said Mr. Manafort has listed his assets as anywhere between $19 million to $63 million over the last five years.

Mr. Gates has listed his assets as between $2 million and $25 million. The special counsel noted that he has frequently opened and closed bank accounts, opening 55 accounts with 13 different institutions between 2004 and this year.

In a motion to modify Mr. Gates‘ conditions of release, Mr. Wu asked that his client’s home confinement be revoked and he be allowed to travel domestically and to some extent abroad as his work requires.

“Should Mr. Gates remain on home confinement, he will lose his clients and be unable to support his family. This is a further indicator that he will not flee,” Mr. Wu wrote in the motion.

In documents filed Thursday in the case, Mr. Downing also challenged the validity of the charges lodged against Mr. Manafort, questioning the Justice Department’s spotty enforcement of foreign agent registration laws.

“The U.S. Department of Justice has only brought six criminal [Foreign Agents Registration Act] prosecutions since 1966 and it has secured only one conviction during this period. It is far from clear what activity triggers a requirement to file a report as a foreign agent,” Mr. Downing wrote. “In order to conceal this weakness in the indictment, a facade of money laundering has been put forth using a tenuous legal theory.”

Mr. Manafort faces 12 to 15 years in prison under sentencing guidelines, and Mr. Gates 10 to 12 years if they are convicted.

Mr. Downing wrote that if the money laundering charges were removed from the indictment, his client would face a much shorter prison sentence.

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