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Mueller: Manafort Lied During My Investigation, Voiding His Cooperation Agreement

The office of special counsel Robert Mueller said President Donald Trump's former campaign chair, Paul Manafort, lied to investigators, which was a breech of his cooperation agreement. The information was brought about during a court filing.

“After signing the plea agreement, Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel’s Office on a variety of subject matters, which constitute breaches of the agreement,” the filings said, according to Fox News. "Manafort met with the government on numerous occasions and answered the government’s questions. Manafort has provided information to the government in an effort to live up to his cooperation obligations. He believes he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the government’s characterization or that he has breached the agreement."

From ABC News:

The D.C. court filing brings to a head weeks of speculation that Manafort’s cooperation with the special counsel could be breaking down. Earlier this month, there were mounting tensions between Mueller and Manafort over Manafort’s apparent lack of cooperation with the investigation, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

Manafort had been fielding questions about a wide range of topics since September when he initially agreed to cooperate, the sources said. But special counsel prosecutors were “not getting what they want,” one source with knowledge of the discussions said.

Manafort pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and agreed to 'broad' cooperation with the special counsel as part of his agreement. Prosecutors said Manafort's cooperation would include "interviews, briefings, producing documents, [and] testifying in other matters."

That concession did not come easy.

According to Fox News, Mueller's office said they would "file a detailed sentencing submission to the Probation Department and the Court in advance of sentencing that sets forth the nature of the defendant’s crimes and lies, including those after signing the plea agreement herein."