Tag: Manafort fraud trial

Manafort sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to 47 months in prison, well below the amount recommended by the sentencing guidelines.

The sentence imposed by Judge T.S. Ellis III, a Reagan appointee, was significantly less than the 19 1/2 to 24 years Manafort could have received under the advisory recommendations.

In remarks from the bench, Ellis described Manafort’s crimes as “very serious” but said the guideline range was “not at all appropriate.” He pointed to significantly more-lenient sentences handed down in similar cases.

View the complete March 7 article by Lydia Wheeler, Morgan Chalfant and Tal Axelrod on The Hill website here.

Lone holdout on Manafort jury blocked conviction on all counts, juror says

The following article by Matt Zapotosky was posted on the Washington Post website August 23, 2018:

This courtroom sketch shows Paul Manafort listening to U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III at federal court in Alexandria. Credit: Dana Verkouteren, AP

A juror in the trial of Paul Manafort said that all but one of the jurors wanted to convict President Trump’s former campaign chairman on every charge he faced — although she criticized special counsel prosecutors as seeming “bored” throughout the trial and said she believed their true motive was to “get the dirt on Trump.”

The juror, Paula Duncan, spoke to Fox News Channel on Wednesday and later to NBC News . She told Fox that jurors “again and again” laid out for the lone holdout the evidence that convinced them that Manafort was guilty. But the holdout, a woman, said she harbored reasonable doubt, Duncan said.

“The evidence was overwhelming,” Duncan said, pointing to prosecutors’ extensive paper trail. “I did not want Paul Manafort to be guilty, but he was, and no one’s above the law.”

View the complete article here.

3 Key Points in Manafort Defense’s Closing Argument

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 15, 2018:

Prosecutors bear the burden of proof in the U.S., Manafort’s lawyers remind jury

Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman. Credit: Shawn Thew, EPA, via Shutterstock

Paul Manafort’s lawyers presented their final argument Wednesday, defending the former Trump campaign chairman from 18 charges of tax evasion, bank fraud, and bank fraud conspiracy.

Manafort faces up to 305 years in prison if the Eastern Virginia jury finds him guilty on all charges.

Prosecutors bear the burden of proof in the United States, defense attorney Richard Westling reminded jurors. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s team, which is prosecuting Manafort, did not reach that evidential threshold, Westling said.

View the complete article here.

Manafort defense rests without calling witnesses

The following article by Lydia Wheeler was posted on the Hill website August 14, 2018:

Attorneys for one-time Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort rested their case Tuesday without calling any witnesses or presenting any further evidence to defend their client, who faces charges of tax evasion and bank fraud that could land him in prison for decades.

Manafort briefly spoke in the courtroom without the jury present, saying he did not wish to testify on his own behalf.

It’s the first time Manafort has been heard in the trial, which is in its third week.

View the following article here.

3 Takeaways from Day 6 of the Manafort Trial

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 7, 2018:

Day 6 of Paul Manafort’s tax evasion and bank fraud trial featured testimony from longtime Manafort deputy Rick Gates. Credit: Zach Gibson, Getty Images

Day Six of the Paul Manafort trial is in the books.

It’s a day that featured testimony from just one witness, Rick Gates, Manafort’s longtime deputy, who finished his direct questioning from prosecutors and underwent a grueling cross-examination from lead defense attorney Kevin Downing.

Gates pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy against the United States and one count of lying to an FBI agent in exchange for testifying against his former boss.

View the complete article here.

3 Takeaways from Day 6 of the Manafort Trial

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 7, 2018:

Credibility of longtime deputy could be critical to prosecution

Day Six of the Paul Manafort trial is in the books.

It’s a day that featured testimony from just one witness, Rick Gates, Manafort’s longtime deputy, who finished his direct questioning from prosecutors and underwent a grueling cross-examination from lead defense attorney Kevin Downing.

Gates pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy against the United States and one count of lying to an FBI agent in exchange for testifying against his former boss.

View the complete article here.

Manafort’s bookkeeper testifies against him, alleging efforts to inflate income

The following article by Rachel Weiner, Justin Jouvenal and Devlin Barrett was posted on the Washington Post website August 2, 2018:

Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is on trial for tax and bank fraud. The case has exposed his lavish spending on luxury clothes. (Patrick Martin, Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post)

Paul Manafort’s longtime bookkeeper testified against him Thursday, telling a Virginia jury that his seven-figure lifestyle lasted until about 2015 when the cash ran out, the bills piled up and he and his business partner began trying to fudge numbers to secure loans.

The dry but potentially damaging testimony from the bookkeeper, Heather Washkuhn, appeared to undercut Manafort’s defense against bank and tax charges, which is that his business partner is responsible for any financial misdeeds. But Washkuhn testified that Manafort approved “every penny.”

Washkuhn spent hours on the witness stand, describing account balances, bills received and payments. Her testimony is critical to the case being heard by a six-man, six-woman jury in Alexandria, Va., as Manafort, who was then-candidate Donald Trump’s campaign chairman for a period in 2016, is charged with running a years-long scheme to hide millions of dollars from the Internal Revenue Service, and then, when his income dried up, lying to get bank loans so he could continue living the good life.

View the complete article here.

5 Things You Should Know From the Paul Manafort Trial, Day 2

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 1, 2018:

President swings at a straw man and prosecutors mull shelving ‘star witness’ Rick Gates

Pres. Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, is on trial, facing 18 counts involving tax evasion and bank loan fraud. Credit: Sarah Silbiger, CQ Roll Call file photo

Day Two of the tax evasion and bank fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manifort is in the books.

The day featured testimony from five witnesses — including Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign chief — and dozens of pages of evidence on Manafort’s lavish lifestyle.

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

View the complete article here.