September trial date set for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort

— -- Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort appeared in federal court Wednesday and entered a plea of not guilty to a five-count revised indictment as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

The judge set the 68-year old’s trial to start on Sept. 17.

“The government is ready to go to trial as soon as possible,” prosecutor Greg Andres told the court.

It was Manafort’s first appearance after his longtime business partner, Rick Gates, pleaded guilty to a dramatically-reduced set of charges last week in exchange for his cooperation with Mueller’s probe.

Mueller’s team added tax evasion and bank fraud charges against Manafort, who already faced charges alleging that he laundered more than $30 million, made false statements to federal officials, and failed to register as a foreign agent.

Both Gates and Manafort had faced multiple felony counts handed up by grand juries in Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Virginia where Manafort has a residence and where he chose to face alleged bank fraud charges, among other counts.

As part of Gates’ plea deal, he now faces just two felony counts provided he cooperates fully with Special Counsel investigators.

Manafort reacted strongly on Friday to the Gates’ deal, releasing a terse statement to the media.

However, Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Wednesday said that action violated her gag order. She said while she understood his need “to state your innocence,” she admonished both Manafort and his attorney and cautioned against any further violations, saying she would hold them accountable next time.

Manafort is scheduled to enter a second plea on Friday in a Virginia federal court where he now faces a total of 18 felony charges.

Jackson - in DC federal court Wednesday - cautioned that there could be “overlap” in both cases as they head to trial.

“It seems like the government is setting itself up” for “duplicative motions” and a “risk of inconsistent rulings and motions.”

Andres said the government had anticipated that, but he noted that it was the defense that opted for the separate venue in Virginia.

“I think the burden will fall heaviest on the defense,” Jackson warned.

In the Washington D.C. trial, the government said it anticipates using a written questionnaire to select a jury, and the judge cautioned that the document should contain no more than 50 “short” questions.

“Less is even better,” the judge said with a smile.

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