Judge Says No: Paul Manafort's Trial Is Staying In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Paul Manafort's trial for bank and tax fraud charges is staying put in Alexandria after a federal judge's ruling Tuesday.

Manafort, a former Trump campaign manager, asked for his trial to be moved to Roanoke in southwest Virginia, claiming the jurors in Alexandria federal court could be biased or well informed on the case from media coverage.

Judge T.S. Ellis III said in his ruling there is no evidence of bias among the potential jurors. The trial will have a questionnaire allowing for impartial jurors to be selected, The Washington Post reported.

"The proximity of defendant’s pretrial publicity to the start of his trial will be the same in Alexandria as it would be in Roanoke or Kansas City or Dallas," reads the ruling.

Tuesday also brought special Robert Mueller requesting immunity for five witnesses to testify for the prosecution in Manafort's case. The potential witnesses have not been publicly identified. "Disclosing the motions would reveal those individuals’ involvement in the investigation and the trial, thereby creating the risk of their undue harassment," reads the request.

Manafort had been jailed at Northern Neck Regional Jail since June after he allegedly tampered with witnesses and a judge revoked his bail. On July 12, he was moved to the Alexandria jail despite objections about the difficulties of the transition. Lawyers for Manafort also asked for the trial date to be moved due to the distance between the DC region and Northern Neck.

The federal judge said the move to the Alexandria jail would give Manafort better adequate access to his counsel.

The trial in Alexandria federal court is set for July 25. Manafort faces a second trial in DC federal court in September.

Image via Alexandria Sheriff's Office