Mueller's office attacked The New York Times and Washington Post for 'inaccurately' reporting on his investigation

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Robert Mueller.

• Robert Mueller's office has called out allegedly inaccurate reporting on the Russia investigation in a new court filing.
• A footnote in a new court filing said stories published by The New York Times and Washington Post are inaccurate and irresponsible.
• Manafort has previously warned that a lot of the reporting about his investigation is wrong.

Robert Mueller has attacked the media, including The New York Times and the Washington Post, for reporting "inaccurately" on the Russia investigation.

The rebuke came in a court filing on Thursday, which asked a judge to issue a 19-page questionnaire to potential jurors in the special counsel's upcoming trial in Virginia against Paul Manafort.

Manafort, who's currently in jail, is the one-time Trump campaign chief at the center of the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

Mueller is preparing to face Manafort in a Virginia court on July 25, and wants to ensure that jurors aren't biased by things they've read in the media before the trial begins.

In a footnote, the special counsel singled out two stories in The New York Times and Washington Post last year, which claimed that Mueller's office had conducted "no-knock" raids of Manafort's house.

Here it is:

US Government

The Times cited two anonymous sources "close to the investigation" to report that FBI agents had picked the lock on Manafort's door rather than announcing their presence prior to raiding his house.

Many other news outlets, including the BBC, Vox, and Business Insider, then cited the Times report on the "no-knock" warrant at the time.

Mueller's office later denied carrying out "no-knock" raids, though had until now stopped short of attacking specific outlets over claims to the contrary.

The Thursday court filing said:

"The reporting, at times inaccurately, comments on the nature of the evidence collected in the case or activities of the parties.

"Furthermore, the amount of publicity about this case is only likely to grow as the trial date approaches, and such publicity increases the possibility that jurors will form biases or pre-formed opinions that may prejudice one or both parties."

It also called out reports that "question the legitimacy of the Special Counsel's investigation, tending to advance the opinion that the investigation is 'tainted' and therefore its results are suspect," and stories that "include disparaging descriptions of the defendant."

The filing cited a February 2018 Boston Herald story and a June 2018 LA Times op-ed to demonstrate those examples.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Paul Manafort in November 2017.

The court filing included a proposed, 19-page questionnaire to potential jurors to understand the possibility of their having prejudices before trial.

Jurors typically receive a jury questionnaire when they arrive for service, which ask them for basic information, prior experience, and pre-trial knowledge of the case.

Below are some examples of questions Mueller's office wants to ask potential jurors:

• This case has received significant publicity in the media. Have you seen, read, or heard anything at all about this case in any form of media, including newspaper, television, radio, or internet? If yes, please explain (i) what you have seen, read, or heard, (ii) the source of that information, and (iii) when that occurred.
• Is there anything regarding the Special Counsel's Office that would prevent or hinder you in any way from rendering a fair and impartial verdict in this case based solely on the evidence presented and the Court's instructions on the law?
• Do you, any member of your immediate family, or any close personal friend have any connection to Ukraine?

Skye Gould/Business Insider

A graphic of Donald Trump and key people in the Russia investigation: Mueller, Manafort, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier this year Mueller's office warned reporters that "many stories about our investigation have been inaccurate," and called on them to "be very cautious about any source that claims to have knowledge about our investigation."

Manafort is a defendant in two separate cases from Mueller's office - one in Virginia and another in Washington, DC. The Virginia trial starts on July 25 and the one in Washington, DC, is scheduled for September 17.