Earlier today, we reported about the need for US Marshals to travel with U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, after he received threats related to the ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s fraud case that he’s currently residing over.

Fox News reports that Judge Ellis also refused a media request to release juror information.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, in rejecting the motion, argued that he’s confident the jurors would be threatened as well if their information were to be made public.

“I can tell you there have been [threats]. … I don’t feel right if I release their names,” he said, adding that because of threats against him, “The Marshals go where I go.”

The startling revelation came as the jury completed its second day of deliberations without a verdict. The jury will reconvene Monday.

Ellis, a famously prickly judge known for his colorful comments, has attracted considerable attention during the Manafort trial for his frequent sparring with the attorneys — particularly those on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team.

Now, only one day after the jury in the Manafort trial began deliberations, The Federalist is reporting that CNN and several other media outlets are suing the government to dox the jurors in the Manafort case…

In a motion filed in federal court on Thursday, CNN and several other media outlets requested that the court release the names and home addresses of all jurors in the Paul Manafort fraud case. Jurors haven not yet rendered a verdict on any of the 18 charges against Manafort, who briefly served as President Donald Trump’s campaign manager in 2016.

The motion — filed on behalf of CNN, Washington Post, BuzzFeed, POLITICO, New York Times, NBC Universal, and the Associated Press — asks the court to provide to the media organizations the full names and home addresses of the men and women who were summoned and selected by the federal government to serve as jurors in Manafort’s fraud case.

“Crime and Justice” reporter Shimon Prokupecz tweeted:

The media request for the names and home addresses of jurors comes a day after the jury began deliberating about the verdicts on 18 fraud and conspiracy counts against Manafort. The charges, which are unrelated to Manafort’s work for the Trump campaign in 2016, were brought by the federal Office of Special Counsel, which is headed by former FBI director Robert Mueller. Mueller was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to investigate allegations that the Trump campaign committed treason by illegally conspiring with Russian government officials to steal the presidential election from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

 

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