Judge rules Paul Manafort 'intentionally' lied to Mueller and the FBI

A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to Special Counsel Robert Mueller as part of his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson found that Manafort "intentionally made multiple false statements to the FBI, the (office of the special counsel), and the grand jury concerning matters that were material to the investigation." She determined that Manafort lied about his interactions with Russian businessman Konstantin Kilimnik; a separate, unidentified Justice Department criminal investigation; and $125,000 he received for his legal bills, CNN reports. Mueller is now released from his contractual obligations in the plea agreement, including asking for Manafort to receive a shorter sentence because of his cooperation.

After being convicted in Virginia on charges of tax and bank fraud, Manafort pleaded guilty in Washington, D.C., last September to conspiracy to defraud the United States and witness tampering, and agreed to cooperate with Mueller. In November, Mueller accused Manafort of violating his plea deal by lying multiple times to investigators; Manafort's attorneys denied that he ever purposely made false statements. Manafort will be sentenced on March 13 for the D.C. crimes.

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