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Robert Mueller has over 1,000 pieces of evidence to reveal in next Paul Manafort trial

Getty
Getty

As Paul Manafort's first federal criminal trial came to a close in Virginia, attorneys rushed to prepare for his next one just around the corner.

They still have quite a bit of work ahead of them: lawyers for Donald Trump's former campaign manager requested a second extension from Judge Amy Berman Jackson to review "well over 1,000 proposed exhibits" provided by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, according to court filings revealed Thursday.

"Review of these materials will be time-consuming,” Mr Manafort's defence team wrote. "This task simply cannot be accomplished while Mr. Manafort's legal team is engaged in trial before Judge (T.S.) Ellis."

The judge granted attorneys an additional four days to review the proposed evidence in Mr Manafort's latest court case. The president's former campaign manager has been accused of tax fraud and other charges related to his overseas political work.

Mr Mueller's office opposed the multiple deadline extensions since the defence team — which was aware of the trial dates for nearly six months ago — made the decision to split Mr Manafort’s criminal charges into two trials.

The evidence his office has provided for the upcoming case is more than triple the exhibits offered in the trial in Alexandria, Virginia. The jury in that trial is currently on day two of deliberations.

With the latest extension, the Special Counsel and Mr Manafort's lawyers are expected to release a joint pretrial statement detailing proposed evidence, listing expert witnesses and providing estimates on timeframe for each of their respective cases on 24 August.

In her decision to provide the extension, the judge "encouraged" Mr Mueller "to review the exhibit list closely with an eye towards streamlining the presentation of its case”.

Judge TS Ellis III, who is presiding over Mr Manafort's case in Virginia, had also requested efficiency in the ongoing trial. He gave the Special Counsel’s office just two weeks to present their evidence, when it had initially requested more time.