Thread by @ZoeTillman

Good morning from the federal courthouse in Alexandria, where Paul Manafort's lawyers will be in court (Manafort waived his appearance from jail) arguing a series of motions, incl. a request for a hearing on whether Mueller's office has leaked info. No phones allowed, stay tuned

Taking a short break from the Manafort hearing - judge heard several other matters first, and then Manafort's lawyers wanted to look at docs they say they just got from Mueller's office, so judge recessed the case

So far we've heard from the FBI special agent who searched Manafort's storage unit. He said the govt learned that Manafort had a unit during a meeting with AP reporters in April 2017, when the AP shared and asked Qs about what it had learned during an investigation into Manafort

The agent went through docs related to the unit that a former Manafort employee, listed as the occupant of the unit, had signed. Manafort has argued that the first, warrantless entry into the unit was invalid, special counsel says the employee had authority to grant access

Okay that's all for now, going back into the courthouse, which means so electronic devices

Hearing in Paul Manafort's Virginia today just ended, I'll have more soon, but a few things:
- On the leaks issue, judge said he wouldn't hold a hearing, and would take addl briefs by next Friday. But he did say he didn't see enough laid out to merit dismissing the case outright

- Urged by the judge to say what remedy they would want if the judge found the govt leaked info, Manafort's lawyers said possibly a change in venue (hello Roanoke?)
- Judge rejected govt request to have prospective jurors fill out a written questionnaire. Judge will ask the Qs

Dispatch from court today: Paul Manafort is running out of options to stop his trial from starting next month buzzfeed.com/zoetillman/pau…

Clarifying on the issue of whether the govt learned about Manafort's storage unit from the AP: FBI agent said he learned about the unit from his investigative efforts or the AP meeting. But later indicated the AP mtg prompted a subpoena to the storage co. buzzfeed.com/zoetillman/pau…

Judge T.S. Ellis III, the judge handling Manafort's Virginia case, is full of quips and asides. Highlights today (see: buzzfeed.com/zoetillman/pau…):
- It's getting into the afternoon. Lawyer: "Time flies when you're having fun." Ellis: "And when you're not."

- Lawyer asks to make an additional point, at the risk of "gilding the lily." Ellis: "Alright. Gild it."
- A lawyer refers to Spiro Agnew. Judge questions if the lawyer was even alive at the time. "You were a gleam in your father's eye."

- And my personal favorite — admonishing a lawyer to be brief in his remarks, the judge notes: "It's lunchtime."