By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s indicted former campaign manager, has added attorney Richard Westling to his defense team, a court filing showed on Wednesday.
Manafort faces charges in two separate indictments stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including conspiracy to launder money, bank fraud, filing false tax returns and failure to register as a foreign agent for Ukraine.
Westling, a lawyer at the law firm Epstein Becker & Green, specializes in health care and life sciences legal work. He previously worked in the tax division at the Justice Department.
Manafort is currently represented by lawyers Kevin Downing and Thomas Zehnle.
No reason was provided for the addition of Westling. A spokesman for Manafort declined to comment on the new hire.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Karen Freifeld; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
