Thread by @ZoeTillman

Hello from the federal courthouse in DC, where Roger Stone is *not* making his first court appearance (see: buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisg…), but Paul Manafort will be going before the judge on a hearing on the special counsel's claims that he lied after signing his plea deal

Paul Manafort's hearing is underway. Manafort just entered the courtroom, walking slowly and in a stilted manner, using a cane. He is wearing a dark suit, after the judge agreed he could do that (instead of wearing a jail uniform)

Judge Amy Berman Jackson said she has not made a decision yet about whether Manafort violated his plea deal — the filings raised questions for her. She says some of govt's submissions are confusing or lack context, and some of Manafort's filings are conclusory and lack specifics

But Jackson says her questions on the substantive issue of whether Manafort lied would involve discussing matters that need to be sealed, so she's not going to get into that just yet. She's starting with more procedural Qs — such as, what are the consequences *if* he lied

Jackson says even if everyone agrees the govt had discretion to say Manafort breached the deal, and that any adjustments to the sentencing guidelines wouldn't really matter, the issue is still "fundamental" to the sentence she's going to impose

Jackson asks Manafort's lawyer Richard Westling if they're conceding that Mueller's office made the determination in "good faith" that Manafort breached the deal. Westling says yes

Westling says it's appropriate for the court to make findings about what actually happened, but in the context of sentencing, not whether or not there was a breach of the plea deal

To be clear: Manafort's lawyers still dispute that Manafort intentionally lied after signing his plea deal. They're conceding that Mueller's office had discretion under the terms of the deal to say Manafort breached it, and that the govt reached the determination in good faith

Westling says he doesn't think an evidentiary hearing is needed, and says they'd prefer to have findings on the lying issue before filing a sentencing memo. Westling says they'd be okay talking publicly about Manafort's health, but defer to the govt on what needs to be sealed

Special counsel prosecutor Andrew Weissmann says that b/c the govt contends the plea deal was breached, they are no longer bound to not pursue other charges in the superseding indictment against Manafort. Weissmann says there's no plan to do that, but want to reserve the ability

Weissmann says that in light of the plea deal breach, the govt no longer believes cooperation should be a factor at sentencing (he said the defense can raise it and they'll respond). Govt hasn't decided yet if Manafort should get credit for acceptance of responsibility

Weissmann said govt unlikely to seek certain increases to the sentencing range because there's a cap on the max sentence Manafort can get, but whether Manafort cont'd bad acts after signing the plea deal could be relevant to deterrence in sentencing

Jackson notes the govt called Manafort's lying a "crime" and didn't rule out charges in the future. The judge asked if a finding now that Manafort lied could prejudice Manafort if that happened. Weissmann said there are no plans to do that, and if it did there could be remedies

After a break, the judge comes back and says she's persuaded to hold a hearing on whether Manafort lied before any presentence report is final. She's going to hold the hearing under seal, and then make a transcript available soon after with as much info public as possible

The sealed hearing before Jackson will be Feb. 4 at 10am — the judge suggested the week before, but Westling asked for a little more time because they'll be prepping for Manafort's sentencing in EDVA on Feb. 8 (sentencing memo likely due by the end of next week)

The lawyers (prosecutors and Manafort's counsel) are now up at the bench for a non-public discussion with the judge (all the microphones are off)

And that's a wrap. Nothing decided today re: Manafort, there will be a sealed hearing on Feb. 4 on whether he lied after signing his plea deal. A redacted transcript will be made public after.