Good Friday morning, and welcome back to Trump Watch. From ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's latest trip to a Manhattan federal courtroom, to former FBI Director James Comey's challenge to a congressional subpoena on Thursday, there was absolutely no shortage of news this week in Trump-legal land.

But the week isn't over, and there's more drama to come: Attorneys for ex-Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and special counsel Robert Mueller III are back in court today, and the Trump administration's judicial nominations machine has hit a major snag. Stick with us as we guide you through this absolutely crazy week.

>> Thank you, always, for reading this newsletter. Got comments or suggestions? Reach out any time to [email protected], or follow me on Twitter at @elliskkim.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort arrives at federal court in Washington, D.C., for his arraignment and bail hearing, on June 15, 2018. Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi / ALM

 

Back in the Courtroom

 

Paul Manafort is expected to get a sentencing date today when his attorneys and special counsel prosecutors return to Washington, D.C., federal court, amid the latter's accusations the ex-Trump campaign chairman breached his plea deal.

The hearing this morning before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson takes place just a few days after prosecutors made that extraordinary claim in a court filing. They allege that Manafort lied to the special counsel's office and federal investigators multiple times, including after entering into a September plea deal where he agreed to cooperate “fully, truthfully, completely, and forthrightly.”

Manafort has “committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel's Office on a variety of subject matters, which constitute breaches of the agreement,” prosecutors said Monday.

While Manafort's attorneys dispute the special counsel's claim—they say Manafort “believes he has provided truthful information”—both sides have asked Jackson to schedule a sentencing date.

Prosecutors did not immediately specify what Manafort's alleged lies were or if they intend to file more charges. Instead, they indicated they will file a report before sentencing outlining his alleged mendacities for the court.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that at least some of the alleged lies dealt with Manafort's claims about his “personal business dealings” and contact with his longtime business associate in Ukraine, Konstantin Kilimnik.

Manafort's attorneys will face a difficult task as they try to persuade Jackson that he has lived up to his plea agreement. If Jackson is convinced Manafort lied, it could lead to a lengthier sentence for the longtime lobbyist, who, at 69, already faces the specter of a substantial amount of time in prison.

On top of Manafort pleading guilty in September to two conspiracy counts related to his past foreign lobbying work in Ukraine, a Virginia federal jury in August found him guilty of eight financial fraud counts. Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginiaplans to sentence Manafort in February.

Manafort, who is currently in a Virginia jail, is not expected to attend today's hearing since he waived his appearance earlier this week.

 

Farr-Gone Conclusions & More

 

Once in a while, Trump's judicial nominations train hits a Senate roadblock.

This was the case Thursday evening, when news emerged that Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, would oppose the confirmation of controversial pick Thomas Farr, effectively sinking his nomination to a North Carolina district court.

In announcing his opposition, Scott, the lone black Republican senator, pointed to a 1991 Justice Department memo that shed details on Farr's past work on former Sen. Jesse Helms' campaign, including Farr's role in a postcard mailing that was allegedly aimed at intimidating black voters from going to the polls.

Farr, nominated to the Eastern District of North Carolina in July 2017, has long been a controversial pick. Civil rights and legal progressive groups vowed to block his bid over what they described as a deep record of hostility to voting rights.

But it's notable that this is the second time Scott has helped sink a Trump court pick. In July, the White House pulled Ryan Bounds' bid to the Ninth Circuit after Scott raised concern over his racially-charged undergraduate writings.

On Farr, Democrats also had the help of another Republican senator in blocking his confirmation: outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona.

Flake indicated this week he opposed Farr in part because of his reservations against the nominee, but also because Flake has vowed to vote against any Trump judicial nominee until a legislative proposal designed to bolster special counsel Mueller's job security receives a vote on the Senate floor.

>> Meanwhile, Flake's legislative crusade to “protect Robert Mueller” stirred even more trouble in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the panel's Republican leadership was forced to cancel a Thursday hearing on nominees.

The panel had planned to advance six circuit court nominees and 15 district court picks out of committee. In order to approve those nominees, however, the committee's Republicans needed Flake's vote. (The GOP only has a one-seat advantage on Democrats in the committee.)

For now, it appears there will be a pause on those nominations, either until a “protect Mueller” bill receives a vote, the new Senate session begins in January, or the Senate Majority Leader takes the unusual step of moving those nominees to the floor without the panel's “favorable” recommendations.

>> Lastly, the Senate is expected to vote soon on Eighth Circuit nominee Jonathan Kobes, currently general counsel to Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota. The outcome of the vote appears like it could be close, after Vice President Mike Pence broke a 49-49 tie on Thursday to advance Kobes' nomination to a final floor vote. (Pence also broke a tie to end debate on Farr's nomination, the day before.)

As we previously reported, Kobes was the sixth of Trump's nominees to receive a “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association. He is the second of his Eighth Circuit picks, after Leonard Steven Grasz. Kobes, a former federal prosecutor and private practice lawyer who was nominated in June, got the thumbs-down in September for his thin legal writing record.

 

BTW: Mark Your Calendars

 

If you thought November was newsy, we're guessing December will be even wilder. These are just a few things happening in the District of Columbia next month:

>> Dec. 6: D.C. Circuit oral argument on the AT&T-Time Warner merger appeal.

>> Dec. 10: D.C. Circuit oral argument in Doe 2 v. Trump, one of the transgender military ban cases currently pending before an appeals court. (As you might have heard, it's an issue that the Trump administration has aggressively moved up to the Supreme Court, asking it review the ban before any appeals court has weighed in.)

>> Dec. 14: D.C. Circuit oral argument in the mysterious, maybe, maybe-not Mueller-related grand jury subpoena fight.

>> Dec. 18: Sentencing for former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.