Paul Manafort's Lawyer Says A Ban On Ghostwriting Op-Eds With Russians Would Be Unconstitutional

WASHINGTON ― An attorney for Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign manager facing a variety of federal charges, argued Thursday that ghostwriting an op-ed with a business partner linked to Russian intelligence doesn’t violate a court order, and that in fact, a ban on such activity would be unconstitutional.

Prosecutors working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller alleged earlier this week that Manafort was “ghostwriting an editorial” with “a long-time Russian colleague of Manafort’s, who is currently based in Russia and assessed to have ties to a Russian intelligence service.” Talking Points Memo obtained and published a draft of the op-ed, which was intended to be published by the Kyiv Post. The editor of the Kyiv Post called the piece “blatantly pro-Manafort.”