Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team wants to review emails between Paul Manafort and one of his former lawyers — messages that would typically be protected by attorney-client privilege.
Manafort’s emails are a special case, Mueller’s team argued in a court motion Wednesday. Attorney-client privilege doesn’t apply when the client enlists a lawyer’s help to commit a crime — and that’s what Mueller’s team is arguing that Manafort did.
The special counsel asked the court’s permission to review “four documents.” It’s not clear what those messages contain. The sections of the motion that appear to describe them are redacted.
Manafort, the former campaign chief for President Donald Trump, has been charged with failing to register as a foreign agent and is set to stand trial next month in Washington. He was convicted earlier this month on eight charges of tax evasion and bank fraud in a separate trial in Alexandria, Virginia.