The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 9, 2018:
Who lied on a bank loan application? Was it Manafort, Gates or both?
Day Eight of the Paul Manafort trial brought special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s prosecution team closer to the finish line of its case against the former Trump campaign chairman.
Prosecutors zeroed in on the loan fraud charges against Manafort, who faces 18 total counts of tax evasion and bank fraud and a maximum 305-year prison sentence if the Eastern Virginia jury finds him guilty.
Citizens Bank mortgage loan assistant Melinda James testified about her communications with Manafort and Rick Gates, the political consulting titan’s longtime deputy, regarding a loan application that contained falsified information to increase Manafort’s chances of getting the request approved.