Roundup: White House says latest Mueller court filings nothing about Trump or of value

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Friday that the latest court filings which detailed accusations against the president's former campaign chairman and former personal lawyer have nothing about the president or of value.

"The government's filing in Mr. Manafort's case says absolutely nothing about the President. It says even less about collusion and is devoted almost entirely to lobbying-related issues," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, referring to Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman of President Donald Trump.

On Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, she said: "The government's filings in Mr. Cohen's case tell us nothing of value that wasn't already known. Mr. Cohen has repeatedly lied and as the prosecution has pointed out to the court, Mr. Cohen is no hero."

Earlier on Friday, special counsel Robert Mueller's office said in a court filing that Manafort lied on five major issues after agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors, including his contact with administration officials and interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, his Russian associate allegedly having ties to the Russian intelligence.

According to the redacted report, the investigators have evidence about electronic communications related to Kilimnik and travel records. They also believe Manafort lied about a wire transfer made to a firm he had hired and "information pertinent to another Department of Justice investigation."

Also on Friday, federal prosecutors in New York rejected Cohen's request to avoid a prison term, saying Cohen had "repeatedly used his power and influence for deceptive ends" and deserved a "substantial" prison term that would most likely amount to roughly four years.

Mueller's office accused Cohen of lying about his contacts with Russia, saying that a Russian national, who claimed to be well-connected in Moscow, spoke with Cohen in 2015 and offered "political synergy" with the Trump campaign.

Cohen, 52, is to be sentenced in Manhattan next week for two separate guilty pleas: one for campaign finance violations and financial crimes charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, and the other for lying to Congress in the Russia inquiry, local media reported, citing files by the Mueller office.

On early Friday morning, Trump released a series of tweets attacking Mueller and former Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey over the ongoing Russia probe. Comey testified behind closed doors on Capitol Hill on the day.

"Robert Mueller and Leakin' Lyin' James Comey are Best Friends, just one of many Mueller Conflicts of Interest," the president tweeted, repeating his claim that the Russia probe is "a total witch hunt."

The multiple court filings published on Friday were widely thought to shed light on where the special counsel's anticipated final report would be headed.

Trump has repeatedly denied colluding with Russia. The Russian government has also denied the allegation. Enditem

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