Manafort's Trump campaign work won't come up in his second criminal trial, prosecutors say

The two-and-a-half-hour hearing Tuesday moved the case closer to trial by setting some parameters for the three-week proceeding. It also gave hints of the difficulties both sides could face at Manafort's second criminal trial, especially in finding unbiased jurors.

The court will stringently examine potential jurors from the nation's capital about their personal experiences through a questionnaire.

The federal judge overseeing the case, Amy Berman Jackson, said potential jurors will be asked if they have strong feelings about former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, for whom Manafort worked, if they know anyone who might be mentioned in evidence and testimony, and if they've posted about Manafort on social media. The possibility that jurors are politically engaged and know about the case before the trial begins is very likely, Berman Jackson said, so they'll be asked about that too.

"People may wake up in the morning and have a sense of the outcome (of a presidential election) more than in the Eastern District of Virginia," Berman Jackson said with a smile.

The judge also said the public will be excluded from all of the jury selection process that occurs in the courtroom. Opening statements are now scheduled for September 24.

Manafort did not attend the hearing in person.

Manafort's first trial in Virginia revolved around a paper trail that showed evidence of tax fraud, bank fraud and a falsified foreign banking disclosure. In the second trial, the prosecutors plan to return to some of that same paper trail and more, this time showing how he allegedly skirted foreign lobbying disclosure laws and conspired to launder money, then tried to influence witnesses after his indictment. Manafort faces seven criminal counts and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Jury challenge

The hearing highlighted just how hard it might be for the DC federal court to find 12 unbiased jurors, plus alternates, for Manafort. The process could take as long as two days, Berman Jackson said.

For much of the hearing Tuesday, Berman Jackson and the trial lawyers walked through the 49 questions they'd like to use to screen jurors.

One sticking point was over whether the court could ask if jurors voted in 2016. Prosecutors pointed out that a juror voting shows nothing more than them following their civic duty, and Berman Jackson agreed it was a broad question because other candidates besides the President were on the ballot then.

Manafort's team had pushed to ask the question, because "we want to get a sense of their level of participation" in politics, Manafort defense attorney Richard Westling said in court.

Another unspoken rationale may hover over the question, however: Only 4% of DC voters cast ballots for Trump in the 2016 election, and many District residents are likely to follow national politics and news coverage of the Mueller investigation and Trump administration closely. A jury pool filled with political activists could be bad for Manafort.

Instead of the voter question, Berman Jackson said she'll focus on another inquiry with jurors, about whether any are actively involved in political campaigns or organizations.

In addition, the court will also ask potential jurors if "anything regarding the Special Counsel's Office" would "prevent or hinder" them from deciding the case in an unbiased way, Berman Jackson said.

Also on Tuesday, Manafort's defense team said they planned to ask to move the case out of DC federal court.

When Berman Jackson asked where, Westling said he couldn't say yet.

Berman Jackson said she'd wait for them to file a motion formally asking for the change this week, but noted that DC federal court has handled several high-profile matters previously. She also noted the "overwhelming majority" of attention on the case has been national in nature -- not specific to DC.

Westling said they would ask anyways, to establish for the court record that Manafort sought a change to prevent jury bias.

The Manafort team unsuccessfully asked to move its last trial, in Alexandria, Virginia, to Roanoke, Virginia. In that case, too, the judge decided the court could find unbiased jurors by asking them enough questions.

Return of Gates?

Some of the hearing Tuesday focused on what Rick Gates might say in court the second time around. Manafort's defense team raised the possibility that Gates could testify again as a witness for the prosecution's case. They're concerned whether jurors may have strong feelings about a person working for the Trump campaign -- and that person could be Gates.

If he testifies, the defense team plans to ask Gates about "offenses he committed against the inauguration committee," Westling said in court.

The defense lawyers didn't go into detail on Tuesday, though they've previously alleged that Gates siphoned money from his employers by inflating his expense statements.

During the Virginia trial, Manafort's team asked him if he submitted personal expenses to the Trump inaugural committee, for which he worked after Manafort left the campaign. It was possible, Gates said, though he added while under oath that "inaugural expenses were reviewed very closely."

Gates testified over three days during the last trial in Virginia, making him one of the most scrutinized witnesses on the stand. He admitted to committing several crimes, including embezzling from Manafort. He also underscored through his testimony how Manafort had planned to dupe federal agencies and banks about his Ukrainian political consulting income.

While prosecutors called the documents in their Virginia case the "star witness" of the trial, the defense zeroed in on Gates -- and tried to cut away at his credibility. A juror after the trial said the jury had decided to set aside Gates' testimony but still relied on the dozens of emails that included his name and that prosecutors used as evidence.

It's likely Gates will testify again at the next trial. He had worked as Manafort's longtime deputy in his Ukrainian political consulting operation and on the Trump campaign. Gates pleaded guilty to two charges of conspiracy and lying to investigators in February, and he agreed to help the prosecutors as needed.

A spokesman for the special counsel's office said they could not comment on whether Gates will testify at the trial. The special counsel's office plans to tell the court their list of potential witnesses later this week. It's not clear yet whether that list will be made public before the trial.

Trial plan

In the coming days, prosecutors and the defense team must submit a flurry of court filings. While the defense team prepares for trial and asks to move it outside of DC, the prosecutors must tell the judge in Virginia what they plan to do with 10 banking charges that resulted in a mistrial there.

Both sides will be back in Berman Jackson's courtroom next Wednesday to discuss more parameters for the upcoming trial.