3 Takeaways From Day 5 of the Manafort Trial

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 6 2018:

Manafort’s former deputy, Rick Gates, takes the stand

Rick Gates, here in November 2017. Credit: Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call file photo

The second week of the tax evasion and bank fraud trial of Paul Manafort kicked off Monday.

The day featured the defense’s cross-examination of Cindy Laporta, the onetime Trump campaign chairman’s former accountant and tax preparer; testimony from a Treasury Department employee who researched whether Manafort had filed reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, or FBARs; and Manafort’s former deputy, Rick Gates.

The high-powered political consultant is facing 18 counts and a maximum 305-year prison sentence if the Eastern Virginia jury finds him guilty.