In the 46-page filing, Manafort’s defenders argued that the federal court in Washington, DC should dismiss Ukraine lobbying and money laundering indictments as unrelated to Robert Mueller’s probe into suspected collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
"The Superseding Indictment’s allegations have nothing to do with the alleged coordination between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and the Russian government… The Superseding Indictment focuses on alleged financial, tax, and disclosure crimes supposedly committed during the course of the work in Ukraine," the court document argued. "The Superseding Indictment should be dismissed."
He also pleaded not guilty to charges of tax evasion and bank fraud during his appearance before the federal court in Alexandria, which ordered him confined to home arrest pending the trial on July 10.
Russia has repeatedly denied accusations of tampering in the 2016 US presidential voting, while Trump has rejected claims that his campaign team colluded with the Kremlin in an effort to tilt the outcome of the polls in his favor.
