Manafort Switches Legal Team as Special Counsel Probe Heats up

Former chairman of President Donald Trump’s campaign, Paul Manafort, is changing legal teams as the special counsel Robert Mueller’s federal investigation heats up, The Hill reports.

According to spokesperson Jason Maloni statement, Washington D.C. law firm WilmerHale will no longer represent the former chairman, who is now attempting to hire his ex-counsel Miller & Chevalier.

“Mr. Manafort is in the process of retaining his former counsel, Miller & Chevalier, to represent him in the office of special counsel investigation. As of today, WilmerHale no longer represents Mr. Manafort,” Maloni said in the statement.

WilmerHale is the same law firm where Mueller used to work before being assigned as special counsel to lead the probe into the alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The news came just a day after it was acknowledged that FBI agents searched Manafort’s residence late last month for documents and other materials in connection to the federal probe. Mueller has enlisted a grand jury in Washington to subpoena witnesses and documents for his investigation.

“FBI agents executed a search warrant at one of Mr. Manafort’s residences,” a spokesperson for Manafort said Wednesday. “Mr. Manafort has consistently cooperated with law enforcement and other serious inquiries and did so on this occasion as well.”

Trump commented on the predawn raid Thursday, referring to it as “pretty tough.”

“I’ve always found Paul Manafort to be a very decent man,” Trump said in New Jersey. “I don’t know, but I thought it was pretty tough stuff to wake him up, perhaps his family was there. I think that’s pretty tough stuff.”

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