Paul Manafort filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained from his home in Alexandria, Virginia, saying the search warrant used to collect the evidence was overly broad and violated his constitutional rights.
- FBI agents who executed the search exceeded the warrant’s parameters, according to a filing Monday
- The Special Counsel didn’t have the authority or jurisdiction to apply for the search warrant, Manafort said in the filing
- Agents sought evidence of purchases, including a Bijan Black Titanium “Royal Way” watch that cost $21,000, according to an affidavit in support of a search warrant application attached to the court filing
- Manafort gave a witness a bag of computers and asked the witness to wipe the drives clean before giving them to charity, the affidavit shows
- The government has “improperly retained” everything it seized for almost nine months, according to the court filing
- NOTE: Manafort Says FBI Illegally Searched Storage Unit for Evidence
- The case is U.S. v. Manafort, 1:17-cr-00201, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington)