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Manafort’s Lawyers Move to Bar Mentions of Trump at Trial

They say his role in Trump’s campaign is irrelevant, as the alleged crimes occurred earlier.

Lawyers for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort have asked a judge to bar any mention of President Trump at the upcoming trial. In court papers filed Friday in federal court, Manafort’s lawyers argued that his role in Trump’s campaign is irrelevant, since his alleged crimes occurred before that time period. “(T)here is a very real risk that the jurors in this case—most of whom likely have strong views about President Trump, or have likely formed strong opinions as to the well-publicized allegations that the campaign colluded with Russian officials—will be unable to separate their opinions and beliefs about those matters from the tax and bank fraud matters to be tried before them in this case,” his lawyers wrote. Manafort is due to begin trial next month in Alexandria on charges of tax evasion. He will also also face money-laundering and conspiracy charges in a separate trial in Washington.