LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Paul Manafort does not want to visit court until his Virginia criminal trial and he waived his right to appear in court for any upcoming hearings in the Eastern District of Virginia, his attorneys wrote in a filing Friday [7-6-18]. No other hearings are currently scheduled before the district court until his trial starts July 25. Judge T.S. Ellis made clear last week that Manafort’s team wouldn’t get a hearing on government leak accusations they’ve made before the trial, although it’s possible a pretrial conference could be added to the schedule. Manafort would appear in person at his trial and possible sentencing, the filing said. Manafort has been held in Northern Neck Regional Jail, about two hours from DC in rural Virginia, and has not been seen publicly since June 15. He also did not come to a hearing in the case last Friday. His reason for not appearing has been the ‘the great time and distance involved in having the US Marshals Service transport him to court from the Northern Neck Regional Jail. Appearing in court requires him to spend at least two hours in transit in each direction,’ his attorneys wrote Friday.”
–Katelyn Polantz, “Paul Manafort doesn’t want to be seen in public until his trial,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, July 6, 2018 4:44 pm