Tag: Paul Manafort

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.

Paul Manafort trial Day 2: Witnesses describe extravagant clothing purchases, home remodels, lavish cars paid with wire transfers

The following article by Rachel Weiner, Rosalind Helderman, Justin Jouvenal and Matt Zapotosky was posted on the Washington Post website August 1, 2018:

Before he joined the Trump campaign, Paul Manafort made a name for himself in the D.C. lobbying world, but his past caught up with him. (Dalton Bennett , Jon Gerberg, Jesse Mesner-Hage/The Washington Post)

Paul Manafort, President Trump’s onetime campaign chairman, is on trial in federal court in Alexandria on bank and tax fraud charges. Prosecutors allege he failed to pay taxes on millions he made from his work for a Russia-friendly Ukrainian political party, then lied to get loans when the cash stopped coming in.

The case is being prosecuted by the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Here is what happened on the second day of the proceedings.

  • President Trump weighed in on the trial for the first time, asking his Twitter followers if Manafort was being “treated worse” than notorious gangster Al Capone.

View the complete article here.

Here are six things you need to know about Paul Manafort’s trial

The following article by Rachel Weiner was posted on the Washington Post website July 30, 2018:

Before he joined the Trump campaign, Paul Manafort made a name for himself in the D.C. lobbying world, but his past caught up with him. (Dalton Bennett , Jon Gerberg, Jesse Mesner-Hage/The Washington Post)

Paul Manafort, who served as President Trump’s campaign chairman from March to August of 2016, faces criminal charges in federal courts in Virginia and D.C. Here’s what to expect from his Virginia trial, which begins July 31.

What is Paul Manafort accused of doing?

In Virginia, Manafort is accused of failing to pay taxes on millions of dollars he made doing work for a pro-Russian political party in the Ukraine between 2006 and 2015 by having the money wired to foreign shell corporations and then sent to him as “loans.”

He lied about having offshore bank accounts, according to prosecutors, while using those bank accounts to buy expensive properties, fancy clothing and antique rugs.

View the complete article here.

Paul Manafort’s Trial Starts Tuesday. Here Are the Charges and the Stakes.

The following article by Sharon LaFraniere and Emily Baumgaertner was posted on the New York Times website July 29, 2018:

Paul Manafort after his arraignment hearing in March at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va. Credit: Al Drago, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Paul Manafort, the veteran Republican political operative and lobbyist who helped run President Trump’s 2016 campaign, is scheduled to go to trial on financial fraud charges starting on Tuesday in United States District Court in Alexandria, Va.

The main points to be aware of:

  • It is the first trial stemming from charges brought by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russia’s interference in the campaign.

View the complete post 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.

Paul Manafort and Donald Trump

Donald Trump, Paul Manafort and Ivanka Trump check the podium at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, July 21, 2016. Credit: Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call, Getty Images

Here are some things to remember as we watch the Manfort trial unfold and Donald Trump vent his rage on Twitter:

  • Paul Manafort, Trump’s ex-campaign chairman and friend of nearly four decades, is on trial for charges related to his work for the former pro-Kremlin regime in Ukraine.
  • Contrary to what the president claims, Trump has a long history with Manafort, and he played an intricate role in the Trump campaign.
  • Manafort was the chairman of the Trump campaign and worked on the campaign for nearly five months.
  • Manafort continued to be a part of Trump’s inner circle after Election Day.
  • Manafort and Trump have known each other for nearly FOUR decades and have a business relationship dating back nearly that long.
  • The charges in the Manafort trial fall under the purview of the special counsel and are relevant to the Russia investigation.
    • Manafort’s work for the pro-Kremlin regime in Ukraine was bankrolled by a Putin-tied Russian oligarch.
    • Manafort’s right-hand man in Ukraine was suspected former GRU agent Konstantin Kilimnik. The FBI believes Kilimnik maintained his ties to Russian intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign, when he was in regular contact with Manafort.

Mueller Is Seeking Immunity for 5 Mystery Witnesses Against Trump’s Ex-Campaign Chair

The following article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet.org website July 17, 2018:

Paul Manafort’s former business associate Rick Gates has already agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Credit: FBI

Special counsel Robert Mueller filed court documents Tuesday requesting immunity for five potential witnesses in the case against President Donald Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort.

The immunity would allow witnesses to testify with the assurance that they cannot be prosecuted for self-incriminating admissions they may make.

“The motions indicate that the named individuals will not testify or provide other information on the basis of their privilege against self-incrimination, and that the government is requesting that the Court compel them to testify at the upcoming trial,” the request says.

View the complete article on the AlterNet.org website here.

Paul Manafort ordered to jail after witness-tampering charges

The following article by Spencer S. Hsu, Ellen Nakashima and Devlin Barrett was posted on the Washington Post website June 15, 2018:

A federal judge ordered Paul Manafort to jail Friday over charges he tampered with witnesses while out on bail — a major blow for President Trump’s former campaign chairman as he awaits trial on federal conspiracy and money-laundering charges next month.

“You have abused the trust placed in you six months ago,” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson told Manafort. “The government motion will be granted, and the defendant will be detained.” Continue reading “Paul Manafort ordered to jail after witness-tampering charges”

Special counsel Mueller indicts Paul Manafort, Russian associate on obstruction charges

The following article by Devlin Barrett, Spencer S. Hsu and Rosalind S. Helderman was posted on the Washington Post website June 8, 2018:

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his longtime business associate Konstantin Kilimnik were indicted on June 8, on obstruction of justice charges. (Jenny Starrs /The Washington Post)

Paul Manafort and his longtime business associate were indicted Friday on new charges that they conspired to obstruct justice — ratcheting up the pressure on President Trump’s former campaign chairman as he tries to stay out of jail while awaiting trial.

The indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Washington marked the first such charges for Manafort’s associate, Konstantin Kilimnik, who is believed to be in Moscow — and therefore probably safe from arrest because Russia does not extradite its citizens. Prosecutors have previously said Kilimnik has ties to Russian intelligence, which he denies. Continue reading “Special counsel Mueller indicts Paul Manafort, Russian associate on obstruction charges”

With Mueller Closing In, Manafort’s Allies Abandon Him

The following article by Kenneth P. Vogel, Sharon LaFraniere and Jason Horowitz was posted on the New York Times website June 7, 2018:

Paul Manafort, Pres. Trump’s former campaign chairman, awaiting trial on charges of violating financial, tax and federal lobbying disclosure laws. Credit:  Yuri Gripas, Reuters

WASHINGTON — The special counsel’s accusation this week that Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, tried to tamper with potential witnesses originated with two veteran journalists who turned on Mr. Manafort after working closely with him to prop up the former Russia-aligned president of Ukraine, interviews and documents show.

The two journalists, who helped lead a project to which prosecutors say Mr. Manafort funneled more than $2 million from overseas accounts, are the latest in a series of onetime Manafort business partners who have provided damaging evidence to Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Their cooperation with the government has increasingly isolated Mr. Manafort as he awaits trial on charges of violating financial, tax and federal lobbying disclosure laws.

Mr. Manafort’s associates say he feels betrayed by the former business partners, to whom he collectively steered millions of dollars over the years for consulting, lobbying and legal work intended to bolster the reputation of Viktor F. Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine. Mr. Manafort has told associates that he believes Mr. Mueller’s team is using the business partners to pressure him to flip on Mr. Trump in a manner similar to the one used to prosecute the energy giant Enron in the early 2000s by a Justice Department task force that included some lawyers now serving on Mr. Mueller’s team. Continue reading “With Mueller Closing In, Manafort’s Allies Abandon Him”