Transcript for Manafort shared polling data with ex-Russian agent: Feds

co-sponsors. We could be seeing a new push this year. The Russia investigation, prosecutors accusing former trump campaign chair Paul manafort of sharing polling data with a mantied to Russian intelligence during the 2016 campaign. It is the clearest sign yet of possible collusion between the trump team and Russia. Our chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas is tracking the case from Washington. The accusation revealed by one of manafort's own attorneys. Reporter: That's right. Manafort's attorneys accidentally posted this information in a court filing yesterday and it was supposed to be redacted. But make no mistake this revelation is startling Mueller's team accusing manafort of lying about sharing polling data related to the 2016 presidential campaign with the man suspected of having ties to Russian intelligence. In fact, one of the special counsel's witnesses has described konstantin Kilimnik as being a former member of the Russian military gru, the same outfit accused of hacking the DNC. FBI agents working with the special counsel say Kilimnik's ties to Russian intelligence continued during the 2016 election season. Administration critics including house intelligence chairman Adam Schiff are suggesting this could be hard evidence of collusion. We don't know what the polling data was, right? Reporter: That's right. We don't know yet but it's potentially the kind of information that the Russians who were doing the trolling and trying to interfere with the campaign might have found useful. Meantime, on another front, the deputy attorney general who had been overseeing the Russia investigation, rod Rosenstein, has told the president he's going to be leaving soon. That's right. Rosenstein, the man who launched the special counsel Russia investigation is expected to depart his role in the coming weeks. Multiple sources telling us Rosenstein is communicating to the white house and the president that he plans to leave the administration around the time that trump's attorney general nominee William Barr would be confirmed. There is no indication that Rosenstein is being forced out at this moment by president trump. He apparently came to the conclusion a new attorney general may want a say in who his deputy would be. Once Barr comes in as attorney general if indeed he is confirmed he would oversee the Russia investigation because he wouldn't be recused in any way unlike the former attorney general, Jeff sessions. Effectively he would be out of the final decisions regarding the special counsel. Pierre Thomas, thanks very much.

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