The U.S. judge overseeing the criminal case against President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman has scolded him for working to write opinion articles for publication in foreign newspapers.
Federal prosecutors last week filed papers in the case against Paul Manafort, saying that despite his being under house arrest, he had worked with a Ukraninan colleague to write an article in the English-language Kyiv Post.
That article, which appeared under the name of a former Ukrainian government official, praised Manafort's political work in Ukraine.
Judge Amy Jackson chided Manafort in a December 11 court hearing, and warned that similar efforts in the future would affect the ongoing case against him.
Manafort and business associate Rick Gates face charges including conspiracy to launder money and failing to register as a foreign agent, for Manafort's years of working for pro-Russian Ukrainian political parties.
He resigned from the Trump election campaign in August 2016 as an FBI investigation into suspicious interactions between Trump associates and Russian officials gathered steam.
Four Trump associates have now either been charged or pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a probe by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.