Judge In Manafort Trial Says He Has Been Receiving Threats

Judge T.S. Ellis III

The judge presiding over the tax and bank fraud trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort said that he has been receiving threats over the highly publicized trial. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III made the claim during a hearing with lawyers representing multiple news organizations about releasing the names and home addresses of the members of the jury.

The Washington Post, New York Times, AP, CNN, NBC, Politico, and BuzzFeed filed a lawsuit seeking to unseal all the records in the case, including the personal information of the jury. Judge Ellis denied their request explaining that doing so would put them at risk because he has received threats. He did not provide specific details about the threats but said that he is under the protection of U.S. Marshals.

“I had no idea this case would excite these emotions, I will tell you frankly,” he said.

Judge Ellis also denied a motion to unseal the records from the numerous bench conferences and sidebars he had with the prosecutors and defense attorneys. He promised that those records would be released once the trial had concluded. 

The jury is currently on its second day of deliberations and told the judge they would likely need to reconvene on Monday

Photo: Getty Images


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content