Legal defense fund launched for Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort, a millionaire
WASHINGTON — Friends of President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has posted millions of dollars in property to guarantee his future federal court appearances on money laundering and fraud charges, are soliciting contributions to finance his defense.
The website created by Manafort’s associates also doubles as a public relations arm for the defendant whose legal team is bound by a strict gag order by a federal judge overseeing one of the two criminal cases lodged against him.
Several links to news reports critical of Russia special counsel Robert Mueller, whose team of prosecutors is managing the investigation, are cited as part of the solicitation.  Â
“Let’s band together and allow Paul’s position to be fully expressed and create an even playing field,” states the website manafortdefense.org, which lauds Manafort’s “lifetime of service.”
“Paul has spent his life advancing American ideals and principles,” according to the website. “He has had the unique and extraordinary opportunity to become a trusted advisor to no less than four United States presidents.”
The site refers to Manafort’s work for Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Trump.
An early target of Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Manafort faces money laundering and conspiracy charges in a Washington federal court where a trial is set for September, while bank fraud and tax fraud charges have been filed in a Virginia federal court where a separate trial has been scheduled for July.
The cost of mounting defenses against such charges, even for a defendant of Manafort’s considerable wealth, can be draining as the separate cases move forward in two venues.
And Manafort is not the only target of Mueller’s inquiry to potentially benefit from a public solicitation.
The family of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn established a similar fund for the retired Army general who pleaded guilty in December to lying to the FBI as agents inquired about his contacts with former Russia ambassador Sergey Kislyak.Â
As part of his decision to plead guilty, Flynn agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors in the ongoing inquiry.
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