Judge gives Manafort a deadline to explain

Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, leaves Federal District Court, in Washington. Prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller are accusing former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of making several attempts to tamper with witnesses in his ongoing criminal cases. Muellers team says in a new court filing that Manafort and one of his associates made several attempts to contact two witnesses in an effort to influence their testimony while he was on house arrest earlier this year. less Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, leaves Federal District Court, in Washington. Prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller are accusing former Trump campaign chairman ... more Photo: Andrew Harnik / Associated Press Photo: Andrew Harnik / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Judge gives Manafort a deadline to explain 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

WASHINGTON — A federal judge here set a date Tuesday for a hearing in which Paul Manafort must adequately explain allegations of witness-tampering in the ongoing inquiry of special counsel Robert Mueller, or face a possible return to jail until his trial.

The New Britain native, who served as President Trump’s campaign manager between May and August 2016, has pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering, conspiracy, perjury and failing to file as a foreign agent.

The case being pursued by Mueller is not directly related to Manafort’s time as Trump’s campaign manager. Rather, it focuses on his political work for the party of Ukraine’s pro-Russia president, Viktor Yanukovych, who was driven from power in 2014.

Late Monday, Mueller’s team filed a court brief accusing Manafort of working with an unidentified associate to influence two potential witnesses to “suborn perjury” — lie to the FBI in order help Manafort.

If proven, the charges would undercut the terms of Manafort’s release on $10 million bond in the wake of his indictment in late October. Manafort is under house arrest at his home in Alexandria, Va., with his movements circumscribed by the court.

Manafort, 69, the son of a former New Britain mayor prominent in Republican politics there, could be sent back to jail pending a trial in Washington in September. He also faces a trial in July in Alexandria, outside Washington, on related tax and bank fraud charges.

Legal analysts speculate that in pursuing a return to jail, Mueller may be upping his ante on winning Manafort’s cooperation in his case against Trump campaign officials and possibly Donald Trump himself.

Mueller is pursuing allegations that the Trump 2016 campaign cooperated with Russian intelligence to swing the election to the Republicans by hacking and releasing derogatory emails involving his Democratic opponent, former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The judge in the Washington case, Amy Berman Jackson, gave Manafort until Friday to respond to Mueller’s charges of witness tampering. She set a hearing date for next week.

“Mr. Manafort is innocent and nothing about this latest allegation changes our defense,” said Manafort’s spokesman, Jason Maloni. “We will do our talking in court.”

News reports from The Associated Press, The Washington Post and other outlets speculate that the associate of Manafort involved in the tampering — identified in the court filing Monday as “Person A” — is Konstantin Kilimnik, Manafort’s office manager in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, who was said to have ties to Russian intelligence. Kilimnik has denied any such connections.

The two objects of their alleged tampering effort were said to be involved in a public relations firm informally known as the “Hapsburg group.”

In his court filing, the two individuals — identified as “Persons D1 and D2 — worked with Manafort and the group to lobby senators and pen op-eds on Ukraine-related issues.

dan@hearstdc.com