2nd LD Writethru: Ex-Trump campaign chairman Manafort violated plea agreement -- special counsel

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort repeatedly lied to investigators after pleading guilty to federal charges, violating a plea agreement that he signed two months ago, special counsel Robert Mueller's office said in a court filing on Monday.

"The government will file a detailed sentencing submission ... that sets forth the nature of the defendant's crimes and lies, including those after signing the plea agreement herein," prosecutors said.

Manafort said in the same filing he disagreed with Mueller's claim that he had lied to the FBI and the special counsel's office and "has provided information to the government in an effort to live up to his cooperation obligations."

The defendant said "he believes that he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the government's characterization or that has breached the agreement."

Both sides agreed that there is no reason to delay sentencing Manafort and asked the court to set a date for sentencing, according to the filing.

Manafort, 69, was convicted on eight counts of financial fraud in an August trial where the jury deadlocked on 10 other counts, which were dismissed later.

He was the first member of Trump's election team facing trial on charges arising from Mueller's investigation.

In September, Manafort struck a deal to cooperate with Mueller's team to avoid a second related trial in the District of Columbia. Since then, he has been meeting with Mueller's team for the ongoing inquiry.

Without a motion from prosecutors asking for leniency, Manafort is expected to be sentenced as much as 10 years in prison for his crimes.

Mueller is looking into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and any potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, among other matters that may arise from the investigation.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly dismissed any collusion between his campaign and the Russians while slamming the Russia probe as a "hoax" or "witch hunt."

The president has also tried to distance himself from Manafort, who joined the Trump campaign team in March 2016 and spent about two months working as campaign chairman before resigning over exposure of his Ukrainian lobbying work. Enditem

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