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Mueller Seeks Special Juror Questionnaire in Manafort Trial
Mueller Seeks Special Juror Questionnaire in Manafort Trial
June 21, 2018 BRANDI BUCHMAN
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) – Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Thursday asked a federal judge to use a special questionnaire to select jurors for the upcoming trial of Paul Manafort, arguing in a court filing that intense media coverage of the case is jeopardizing the former Trump campaign chairman’s ability to get a fair trial.
In the 28-page filing, Mueller’s team says “the Manafort investigation … has been the subject of extensive media coverage. A Westlaw search of major newspapers for the terms ‘Manafort’ near ‘trial’ or ‘investigation’ yielded over 3,500 results.
“Similarly, the same search of transcripts of television and radio broadcasts returned over 1,300 hits, including in major news outlets, such as all major television networks and newspapers, but exclusive of social media like Twitter feeds,” the filing says.
Manafort’s trial in Virginia on multiple charges of bank and tax fraud charges, conspiracy and making false statements to law enforcement, is scheduled to start on July 25.
But the publicity surrounding Manafort isn’t the only reason Mueller says he wants a special questionnaire incorporated into the jury selection process.
“Some of the media accounts question the legitimacy of the Special Counsel’s investigation, tending to advance the opinion that the investigation is ‘tainted’ and therefore its results are suspect,” special counsel says. “Other media accounts, by contrast, include disparaging descriptions of the defendant. Adverse pretrial publicity can be a significant source of potential prejudice.”
more...
https://www.courthousenews.com/mueller-seeks-special-questionnaire-for-potential-jurors/
