Paul Manafort faces charges of money laundering and failing to file as a foreign agent in connection with work done for the government of Ukraine and one of its political parties. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Manafort trial likely to start in September at the earliest

The criminal trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort appears likely to start in September at the earliest after a federal judge on Tuesday rejected a bid by special counsel Robert Mueller's office to kick off the trial in May.

The timeline emerging from an hourlong hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson raises the possibility that Manafort and colleague Rick Gates could go on trial at the height of the midterm campaign season, making an already unwelcome distraction for the White House and Republicans even more uncomfortable.


Jackson indicated that with hundreds of thousands of documents and electronic files turned over to the defense as recently as Friday, it was unrealistic to proceed with the May 14 trial date prosecutors proposed last week.

"I'm not exactly sure when the trial date might be," the judge said. "I don't have a problem with a trial in September or October. ... I don't want something that we're going to continue. We're going to have a real trial date."

Prosecutor Greg Andres said during the court session that Mueller's team expects to need about three weeks to present its case against Manafort and Gates, which includes charges of money laundering and failing to file as foreign agents in connection with work done for the government of Ukraine and one of its political parties.

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One of Manafort's attorneys, Kevin Downing, said he plans to file a series of motions challenging the indictment, asking for more details about the charges and demanding access to more evidence in the government's possession. However, he said the volume of records coming in complicates the defense's efforts.

"We're a little surprised that we're this late in the game and there's still discovery," Downing said.

Prosecutor Kyle Freeny told the judge that "the bulk" of the relevant information in the government's possession has been turned over, but Jackson suggested the government needs to complete the task.

"Other than things that are still coming in, there's no excuse for not producing what you have," the judge said. "You're asking for a trial date that's not that far away."

Not all the reasons for Jackson’s decision against starting a trial in the spring were clear, because much of the discussion on the scheduling issue was held at the judge's bench, with a noise machine turned on to prevent those in the gallery from hearing what the lawyers and the judge were saying.

Both Manafort and Gates were in the courtroom for the hearing, the first of the year. During the lengthy sidebar discussion, the two men chatted across the defense table, with Manafort using his hand to try to maintain the privacy of their conversation from the dozens of reporters, FBI personnel and others watching the hearing.

During Tuesday's session, the judge expressed her displeasure with Gates' participation in a fundraiser last month with reporters present, at which a lobbyist denounced Mueller's team as "very unfair." She said the event, which Gates addressed via a videotaped message, seemed to fly in the face of a gag order she issued in the case.

However, she said she would not hold Gates in contempt over the episode, and she gave him the same type of warning she gave Manafort recently over his involvement in editing an op-ed piece about issues related to the case.

Rick Gates remains in home confinement, although there were indications that he might be formally released from those restrictions as soon as Tuesday afternoon. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

"I think it's important for the defendants to use common sense," Jackson said. She said they were free to speak about the case privately, to raise money for their defense and to thank donors, but she warned the parties not to make public statements through agents or associates.

"If press is going to be invited to an event ... I think that's a pretty big red flag," the judge said, adding that if "an attack on the prosecution" is going to be a method of soliciting funds, the defendants should steer clear.

An attorney for Gates, Shanlon Wu, told the judge that the lines were not that clear because social media can quickly result in a private comment or event being make public. "In this day and age, it's not so easy to ascertain," he said.

After a second hearing later Tuesday, Gates was formally released from home confinement, subject to various conditions on his travels. However, Manafort remains under house arrest at his Alexandria, Va. condo.

The morning hearing featured several prickly interactions between Downing and the judge. In one exchange, the defense lawyer raised his voice and sounded frustrated as he complained that Jackson had effectively hiked the amount of money and property Manafort needs to post in order to be released to $17 million from about $11 million.

"If I did that, you have to point the error out to me," the judge said.

Downing and the judge also squared off during a discussion about a civil suit Manafort filed earlier this month claiming that, by bringing the case focused on lobbying and tax issue that date back about a decade, Mueller exceeded his jurisdiction over matters related to Russian influence on the 2016 election.

Jackson suggested it was unusual to file that challenge outside the criminal case, prompting Downing to insist the suit addressed broader issues about Mueller's conduct and "did not ask for dismissal of the indictment."

However, the judge noted that the suit does assert that the indictment was unlawful and appears to call for that move and others to be "set aside."

"I'm not entirely sure how you can say what you just said," Jackson said to Downing, who said he'd address the issue further in writing.

Jackson set another hearing on Feb. 14 for scheduling, at which time she could set a trial date. She also set a hearing for April 17 to take up defense motions aimed at knocking out some or all of the government's charges.

Earlier in the hearing, Jackson revealed that a letter from Manafort's physician was submitted to the court, asking for changes in the conditions of Manafort's confinement. She told Downing to make a formal motion if he wants something changed, but she also seemed to scoff at a suggestion from the doctor that the house arrest was endangering the health of the longtime lobbyist and political consultant.

"While he's subject to home confinement, he's not confined to his couch, and I believe he has plenty of opportunity to exercise," she said.

