Washington • Special counsel Robert Mueller has produced hundreds of thousands of documents, including copies of data from 36 electronic devices and 2,000 “hot” documents, in the government’s case against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates.
Mueller’s investigators also disclosed the existence of 15 search warrants and other requests in their investigation of Trump’s former campaign chairman and his deputy, according to a new court filing made Friday.
The scope of the documents is outlined in the filing, which details what evidence the government collected in building its case against Manafort and Gates. The disclosure of what documents and evidence exist was provided to the defense teams as part of the discovery process.
The filing gives a rare peek into the tactics used by federal investigators, but stops short of describing the details of the evidence.
Lawyers for the government, Manafort and Gates will be back in court Monday hashing out a series of items.
The government’s first batch of documents provided to Manafort and Gates, on Nov. 17, focused on financial records from Cyprus and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as a hard drive with 89,000 items on it. Mueller’s team also provided some of the 2,000 “hot” documents — items considered critical to the government’s case.
On Nov. 22, the government turned over two more hard drives with roughly 120,000 items on them. On Dec. 1, prosecutors turned over additional search warrants, deposition from Manafort and Gates from another case and a fourth hard drive with roughly 80,000 items on it. The government also gave Gates copies of data on nine electronic devices seized in the raid on Manafort’s Virginia home this past summer.
And on Friday, the government turned over a fourth batch of documents and more, including more ���hot” documents and, for Gates, copies of information on another 27 electronic devices seized from Manafort’s home.
Discovery and evidence production has a spotty history for federal prosecutors. Former Attorney General Eric Holder asked a federal judge to toss a conviction against former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens after it was uncovered that federal prosecutors hid from witnesses evidence of conflicting testimony that might have aided the senator’s defense.
Manafort and Gates were charged by Mueller’s team with multiple counts of conspiring to launder money, conspiring against the U.S. and giving false statements to federal agents. Both men pleaded not guilty and their lawyers have flatly denied any wrongdoing by them.