NEWARK, N.J. _ Special Counsel Robert Mueller and Paul Manafort asked for a brief delay before updating a judge about Manafort's cooperation in the Russia investigation, saying they will have more to report in 10 days.
Lawyers in the case were supposed to submit a status report Friday but asked U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington for an extension until Nov. 26. They didn't explain why, saying in a brief filing on Thursday that they will then submit "a report that will be of greater assistance in the court's management of this matter."
There's nothing else in the two-paragraph document to indicate what, if anything, may be happening in the next 10 days. But the filing could suggest that Manafort's cooperation with Mueller may be nearing a critical point.
Mueller and Manafort said "the parties have been meeting since" the last court hearing on Sept. 14.
Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, was convicted by a jury in August in Alexandria, Va., of bank and tax fraud. He then pleaded guilty to additional charges in Washington a month later, agreeing to cooperate with Mueller's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
The filing came a day after Mueller and lawyers for Rick Gates, Manafort's former right-hand man who pleaded guilty and testified against his ex-boss, told Jackson that he is cooperating with prosecutors on "several ongoing investigations." They said they will file another status report on Jan. 15.
