Special Counsel Robert Mueller offered limited immunity to five potential witnesses in the case against campaign consultant Paul Manafort. One of the witnesses is Tony Podesta, according to unnamed sources, though this claim is inconsistent with court documents.
Podesta being granted immunity was reported by Fox News’ Tucker Carlson on July 19, based on two anonymous sources.
The Special Counsel’s Office declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Podesta declined to speak on record.
Podesta’s lobbying firm, the Podesta Group, worked with Manafort and another lobbying firm, Mercury LLC, to boost the Ukrainian government’s image in the United States between 2012 and 2014. Podesta’s brother John was a campaign chair to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid.
While Manafort has been charged with a failure to register as a foreign agent, the Podesta Group hasn’t.
Mueller charged Manafort in two separate lawsuits (in October and February), saying he hid from authorities millions of dollars in payments from former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, dodging taxes in the process. He also allegedly lied to banks about his income to get better loans, lied to investigators, and failed to register as representing foreign interests.
The Podesta Group’s CEO, Kimberley Fritts, said their work for Ukraine was paid by a nonprofit, which provided a signed statement affirming its independence from Ukraine’s government.
But one former Podesta employee anonymously told the AP that Manafort’s partner, Richard Gates, told them in 2012 that the nonprofit’s role was to supply funding that could not be traced to the Ukrainian politicians who were paying him and Manafort.
In October, Podesta quit his firm after news of the Ukraine work emerged. The firm virtually ceased to function that year.
Manafort and Gates, as well as the Podesta Group and Mercury ultimately registered as foreign agents in 2017.
Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson then sent Manafort to jail to prevent further contact with witnesses. He’s been reportedly held in solitary confinement.
Manafort is scheduled for trial on July 25, 2018. Based on court documents, the five witnesses with immunity offers haven’t been charged in the case, but “will not testify or provide other information on the basis of their privilege against self-incrimination.”
Granting immunity is a way to compel a testimony, as a witness who then refuses to testify to a federal grand jury may be held in contempt.
Rare Charge
Lobbyists are rarely punished for failing to register as foreign agents. In the past half a century, there have only been a handful of cases.Manafort’s lawyers said the charges against him are politically motivated as his activities have been known to authorities for years, but only prosecuted after he joined the Trump campaign.
Mueller was appointed a year ago to take over a previous FBI counterintelligence probe into Russian meddling with American elections and whether the Trump campaign “colluded” with the meddling.
Mueller indicted 25 Russians and three companies for allegedly running a social media troll farm and hacking voters’ information and Democrats’ data. He also indicted several Trump campaign associates, but none of the charges substantiate the Trump-Russia collusion allegations.