“Days before in-person jury selection is set to begin in his second trial, President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is in talks with the special counsel’s office about a possible plea deal,” the Washington Post reports.

“The discussions indicate a possible shift in strategy for Manafort, who earlier this year chose to go to trial in Virginia, only to be convicted last month in Alexandria federal court on eight counts of bank and tax fraud.”

“The specifics of Manafort’s current negotiations with prosecutors were unclear, including whether he would provide any information about the president. However, Manafort’s willingness to engage in talks could be a setback for Trump.”

“Paul Manafort’s lawyers have talked to U.S. prosecutors about a possible guilty plea to avert a second criminal trial set to begin in Washington this month,” Bloomberg reports.

“The negotiations over a potential plea deal have centered on which charges Manafort might admit and the length of the sentence to be recommended by prosecutors working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller… Manafort already faces as long as 10 years in prison under advisory sentencing guidelines in the Virginia case.”

A federal judge ruled that Paul Manafort’s second trial will remain in Washington, D.C., the AP reports.

“Manafort’s attorneys had argued that the trial should be moved to Roanoke, Virginia, because the intensity of publicity in Washington made it impossible for him to receive a fair trial. But Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the request appeared to relate more to concerns about the political affiliation of Washington residents, rather than a unique amount of pretrial publicity.”

Paul Manafort’s daughter, Jessica, has filed paperwork to officially change her last name to her mother’s maiden name, Bond, the New York Post reports.

She said that she’s seeking the name change “to separate myself and my work from a public perception that has nothing to do with the person that I am.”

“A federal judge on Thursday gave special counsel Robert Mueller extra time he had requested to decide whether to seek a retrial for former Trump campaign boss Paul Manafort on the 10 criminal charges that jurors deadlocked on last week,” CNBC reports.

“But exactly how much time Mueller will have remains to be seen.”

“Lawyers for Paul Manafort suggested President Trump is making it harder for his ex-campaign boss to get a fair trial as they asked a judge to move his next case on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller out of a Washington, D.C. federal court,” CNBC reports.

His lawyers claim that Manafort has “become an unwilling player in the larger drama between Mr. Mueller and President Trump” — an association made worse by Trump weighing in on the trial.

“Paul Manafort’s defense team held talks with prosecutors to resolve a second set of charges against the former Trump campaign chairman before he was convicted last week, but they didn’t reach a deal, and the two sides are now moving closer to a second trial next month,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The plea discussions occurred as a Virginia jury was spending four days deliberating tax and bank fraud charges against Mr. Manafort… That jury convicted him on eight counts and deadlocked on 10 others. Prosecutors accused Mr. Manafort of avoiding taxes on more than $16 million he earned in the early 2010s through political consulting work in Ukraine.”

Franklin Foer: “According to McCain aides, the crucial moment came in the planning for the 2008 convention. I was told that Manafort lobbied desperately to become manager of the Republican National Convention, to take on the role of orchestrating the show. This was the sort of job that he held several times before. It represented the sort of behind-the-scenes power that he sought his entire career. Because of his relationship with Davis, and because of his resume, he thought of the job as something close to his birthright.”

“But McCain didn’t want any further association with Manafort, so he denied him the job, a rejection that sent Manafort into a fit of rage and depression. All the evidence for rejecting Paul Manafort as a man of dubious character was amply available in 2008—and McCain acted upon it.”

Rudy Giuliani said that President Trump sought his lawyers’ advice several weeks ago on the possibility of pardoning Paul Manafort, the Washington Post reports.

“The subject of the pardon came up while Manafort was on trial on multiple charges of bank fraud and tax evasion, and the president was expressing his anger at how federal prosecutors had ‘beat up’ and mistreated the former Trump campaign chairman, Giuliani said. The president’s lawyers counseled him against the idea, suggesting he should wait until special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation was concluded, and Trump agreed.”

Playbook: “For Mueller and Manafort, the next trial starts Sept. 17 in Washington D.C. The now-convicted former Trump campaign chairman has pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering, failing to register as a foreign agent for his work in Ukraine and obstruction of justice over the allegations of witness tampering after his initial indictments.”

“Expect Manafort’s lawyers to go after Rick Gates if and when the government brings him back to the witness stand. There’s a preliminary hearing in the D.C. trial next Tuesday, Aug. 28.”

“The Mueller prosecutors will be back before Judge Ellis on Aug. 29 in Alexandria to say whether they want to refile the 10 counts that the jury couldn’t reach a verdict on: failure to register his foreign bank accounts in three years, as well as seven of the bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy charges. Ellis also hasn’t yet set a sentencing date for the charges Manafort was convicted on.”

The jury in Paul Manafort’s fraud case indicated in a note Tuesday that it is struggling to reach a unanimous verdict on all 18 tax- and bank-fraud charges, the Washington Post reports.

New York Times: “It was not immediately clear if the jurors’ question suggested that they had reached a verdict on 17 of the 18 counts of bank and tax fraud brought against Mr. Manafort, a former campaign chairman for President Trump.”

“A jury is still deliberating Paul Manafort’s future, but even if he’s acquitted his legal battle will only be halfway over,” USA Today reports.

“The former campaign chairman for President Trump is due back in court in Washington next month for a second trial centered on allegations of lying to the FBI, money laundering and foreign lobbying.”

“This time prosecutors say they have even more evidence – more than double the amount they showed jurors in Virginia. “