Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign manager, made $60 million in Ukraine as a consultant for Russian-backed politicians, special counsel Robert Mueller’s team stated in a court filing Monday. The attorneys have “memoranda, emails, and photos reflecting tasks performed” to demonstrate the source of a large part of Manafort’s income, CNN reports.
Manafort’s lawyers are attempting to block the 51 exhibits detailing this work from court, claiming the evidence is “irrelevant, prejudicial and unnecessarily time-consuming evidence,” Bloomberg reports, but Mueller’s team say the documents are needed to prove the full scope of Manafort’s earnings.
“The documents establish the breadth of the work that Manafort performed, including commissioning television ads, writing speeches and carrying on campaign-related activities,” read the filing, Bloomberg states. “There is nothing prejudicial about documents setting forth how the ads were made, how consultants were paid and who approved their work.”
The trial against Manafort, focused on tax and bank fraud, is set to begin juror selection this Tuesday. CNN reports the charges against Manafort state $75 million flowed through offshore accounts managed by Manafort and his former business partner, Rick Gates.
According to Mueller’s filing, “to prove that Manafort earned that much income, the government must be able to show the extent of the work that he performed for Ukraine,” The Hill states.