Meanwhile, in the Manafort witness tampering case

Manafort has filed a motion to put off his Virginia (bank and tax fraud) case until after his (money laundering and failure to register as a foreign agent) DC case.  Special counsel has filed an opposition motion.

Source:

GOVERNMENT’S OPPOSITION TO PAUL J. MANAFORT, JR.’S MOTION TO CONTINUE THE TRIAL UNTIL AFTER THE WASHINGTON, D.C. TRIAL

[...]

At the initial arraignment on this case on March 2, 2018, the Court scheduled a trial date of July 10, 2018. That date, although outside the Speedy Trial Act 70-day time-frame, was selected after the Court heard from defense counsel regarding the need for additional time to prepare for trial. Dkt. 28. That trial date was later adjourned for two more weeks, from July 10 to July 25. Manafort now seeks to further delay the trial, not for a week or two, but for months.

[...]

Manafort had a remedy if he believed that either the location of his incarceration or the conditions under which he could communicate with counsel were impinging on his trial preparation. He chose not to seek such relief: he has never brought to the attention of this Court, the Court overseeing the D.C. Case, the Bureau of Prisons, or the prosecution any claim that he seeks to be housed either closer to Alexandria or Washington, D.C., or that he needs different accommodations in order to prepare for trial.² [...] The government as early as June 15 (the very day Manafort was remanded) and as recently as Friday July 6, 2018, has offered to assist the defense if they had any concerns regarding where Manafort was detained or his conditions. However, the defense has not brought a single issue to the government’s attention, until it received this motion seeking to use his alleged prison conditions as a basis for an adjournment.

[...]

Nor are the conditions of his incarceration since June 15, which he has not challenged, more restrictive than for other inmates (and in various ways less restrictive, as noted below), or unduly interfering with his ability to prepare for trial. [...] In fact, Manafort has reported, in a taped prison call, that he has reviewed all discovery: Just days before filing his motion for a continuance, Manafort told the person on the call that, “I’ve gone through all the discovery now.” And he has had extensive access to his counsel and materials: On July 4, 2018, Manafort remarked in a taped prison call that he is able to visit with his lawyers every day, and that he has “all my files like I would at home.”

Let's go straight to that "as noted below" - shall we?

³ Among the unique privileges Manafort enjoys at the jail are a private, self-contained living unit, which is larger than other inmates’ units, his own bathroom and shower facility, his own personal telephone, and his own workspace to prepare for trial. Manafort is also not required to wear a prison uniform. On the monitored prison phone calls, Manafort has mentioned that he is being treated like a “VIP.”

Being treated like a VIP. In prison.

Manafort also has a personal telephone in his unit, which he can use over twelve hours a day to speak with his attorneys.⁴ According to prison telephone logs, in the last three weeks Manafort has had over 100 phone calls with his attorneys, and another 200 calls with other persons. Those telephone logs indicate Manafort has spoken to his attorneys every day, and often multiple times a day. Manafort also possesses a personal laptop that he is permitted to use in his unit to review materials and prepare for trial. The jail has made extra accommodations for Manafort’s use of the laptop, including providing him an extension cord to ensure the laptop can be used in his unit and not just in the separate workroom.⁵

More "below" information...

⁴ The defense representation that telephonic communication “is restricted to ten (10) minutes per call” is incorrect. Dkt. 110 at 3. Each phone call session is limited to fifteen minutes, but there is no restriction on the number of phone call sessions, meaning that Manafort immediately can reconnect with his attorneys whenever the fifteen minutes expires. For example, according to telephone logs, Manafort has had successive phone call sessions with his attorneys that have lasted over forty minutes. The attorney calls are not monitored.
⁵ Although the jail does not allow prisoners to send or receive emails, Manafort appears to have developed a workaround. Manafort has revealed on the monitored phone calls that in order to exchange emails, he reads and composes emails on a second laptop that is shuttled in and out of the facility by his team. When the team takes the laptop from the jail, it reconnects to the internet and Manafort’s emails are transmitted.

Whoever said Manafort simply doesn't think rules apply to him was right. And apparently, so is Manafort.

But why would he want the Virginia trial to come after the DC trial?






I just don't get that.  I think he already knows whether he'll be getting a pardon or not.  The "elsewhere" could mean Russia, or somewhere other than the White House.

I don't get it. 

 ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.