Robert Mueller requests 70 more blank subpoenas ahead of Manafort trial

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s office has requested 70 more blank subpoenas as it prepares for the trial of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager.

Mr Mueller has requested the subpoenas in a Virginia court where Mr Manafort is facing various charges, including bank fraud and money laundering. The two page court filing does not offer many details about the nature of the subpoenas, but does request that each individual appear at the federal courthouse on July 10, the day Mr Manafort's case is set to begin

Mr Manafort has pleaded not guilty, and has attempted to get the charges thrown out by arguing that the charges relate to incidents that are out of Mr Mueller’s purview.

The 70 new blank subpoenas follow after Mr Mueller’s team requested 35 other blank subpoenas in April. The new subpoena requests have been confirmed by the special counsel’s office to several news outlets.

“It is respectfully request that the Clerk of said Court issue subpoenas as indicated below for appearance before said Court at Alexandria Virginia, in the United States District Court at 10:00 o’clock am, on 10th day of July, 2018, then and there to testify on behalf of the United States,” court filings from the April request read.

Mr Manafort, who's charges include accusations of money laundering, tax evasion and fraud, has been deemed a “substantial flight risk” by US District Judge Thomas Shelby Elliss III, who will hear the case in July.

In a court filing addressing that matter, Mr Shelbe wrote: “Specifically given the nature of the charges against the defendant and the apparent weight of he evidence against him, defendant faces the very real possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.”

Mr Manafort was first charged last October, and was indicted with further crimes in February.

The charges stem from Mr Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, although it is not clear that the charges Mr Manafort faces directly relate to the campaign of Mr Trump, or to Mr Manafort’s work for that campaign.

Mr Manafort is a well known political operative, who has international ties from his time working as a political operative in Ukraine. He is also well known to Republicans in the United States.

Mr Manafort’s lawyers have said that the charges against Mr Manafort fall outside of the 2016 election, and therefore should not be considered.

“The conduct alleged here was not discovered because of the special counsel’s investigation into alleged coordination; nor was it ‘demonstrably related to’ that investigation,” court filings made on Mr Manafort’s behalf say.