FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort arrives for arraignment on a third superseding indictment against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on charges of witness tampering, at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S. June 15, 2018.
Paul Manafort on Tuesday will become the first of President Donald Trump's former aides to go on trial, accused of bank and tax fraud by federal investigators probing Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Despite a focus on financial crimes, the trial could yield politically damaging headlines about a man who ran Trump's campaign for three months and attended a June 2016 meeting with Russians offering damaging information about Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton that is now a focal point of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 14-month-old probe.
"My guess is you will see O.J.-type frenzy at this court event," said Michael Caputo, a former Trump aide and longtime Manafort associate, referring to the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder case. "I really hope the president continues to watch and make public comments about this case."
U.S. President Donald Trump accused Twitter Inc on Thursday of restricting the visibility of prominent Republicans on its platform, without providing evidence, and he promised to investigate."Twitter 'SHADOW BANNING' prominent Republicans. Not good. We will look into this discriminatory and illegal practice at once!" the Republican president wrote in a Twitter post.The practice involves limiting the visibility of a user in search results, specifically in the auto-populated dropdown search box on Twitter.Trump's comments followed a Vice news report on Wednesday that Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and other Republicans including Donald Trump Jr's spokesman were being "shadow banned."US opens way for India to escape sanctions over Russia arms imports"The notion that social media companies would suppress certain political points of view should concern every American. Twitter owes the public answers to what’s really going on," McDaniel wrote on Twitter.Twitter did not have a comment on Trump's tweet but a spokesperson said the company does not "shadow ban.""We are aware that some accounts are not automatically populating in our search box, and shipping a change to address this," the spokesperson said in a statement." Twitter said the technology used is based on user behavior not political views.Twitter instituted a policy change on July 12 to increase the service's credibility and reduce suspected fraud. That change cost its 100 most popular users about 2 percent of their followers, on average, according to social media data firm Keyhole.Twitter shares, already lower in premarket trading after Facebook Inc's disappointing earnings late Wednesday damped enthusiasm for technology and social media stocks, dipped a bit further and volume rose slightly after Trump's tweet at 7:46 a.m. The stock was last down 3.2 percent.
Trump accuses Twitter of targeting Republicans, offers no evidence
He said Trump could help the public understand what is at stake in Mueller's probe, which both Trump and Caputo have called a "witch hunt" aimed at ending his presidency.
Prosecutors are expected to argue that Manafort's lavish spending on suits, homes and luxury items did not match the income declared on his tax returns and that he misled lenders when he borrowed tens of millions of dollars against New York real estate.
Joshua Dressler, a law professor at Ohio State University, said the evidence against Manafort, 69, appears strong, but that he drew a favorable judge in the 78-year old T.S. Ellis, who is known to be tough on prosecutors, and said the politically charged climate increases the chances of a hung jury.
Russia is preparing for a meeting of Russian Security Council Secretary cwith U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, Moscow said on Friday.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov was very cautious in announcing the meeting at a press conference in Moscow.He said the agreement for the meeting was "perhaps the only agreement reached at the Helsinki summit" last week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump."We leave to the American side, in this case, the interpretation of which agreements were reached and which were not reached,” he said.“But, for our part, we confirm that we are working on the prospect of such a meeting and hope that it can take place in the near future.”Russia's Putin says he invited Trump to MoscowUS opens way for India to escape sanctions over Russia arms importsHe added that he expected it to take place before summer ends.He added that the possibility of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visiting Russia is not being discussed, but that Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov could meet on the sidelines of an international meeting.Earlier today, Putin said he had invited Trump to come to Moscow, and the White House said Trump "looks forward to having" Putin in Washington some time in 2019.The first summit between Putin and Trump took place this month in Helsinki. It was met by a widespread criticism in the U.S.
Russia preparing for meeting with US security advisor
Manafort, who has pleaded not guilty, faces 18 counts. The nine bank fraud and conspiracy charges alone carry maximum sentences of 30 years each, and Judge Ellis noted in April that Manafort was potentially facing the rest of his life behind bars.
Given the strength of the evidence, however, some legal experts have suggested Manafort may be banking on an eventual pardon from Trump, who has called his former campaign chairman a "nice guy" who has been treated unfairly.
The trial, starting with selection of a 12-member jury, coincides with growing speculation that Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen may cooperate with federal investigators against the president, now 18 months in office.
The Trump administration is quietly pushing ahead with a bid to create a new security and political alliance with six Gulf Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, in part to counter Iran's expansion in the region, according to U.S. and Arab officials.The White House wants to see deeper cooperation between the countries on missile defense, military training, counter-terrorism and other issues such as strengthening regional economic and diplomatic ties, four sources said.The plan to forge what officials in the White House and Middle East have called an "Arab NATO" of Sunni Muslim allies will likely raise tensions between the United States and Shi'ite Iran, two countries increasingly at odds since President Donald Trump took office.The administration's hope is that the effort, tentatively known as the Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA), might be discussed at a summit provisionally scheduled for Washington on Oct. 12-13, several sources said.The White House confirmed it was working on the concept of the alliance with "our regional partners now and have been for several months."Saudi officials raised the idea of a security pact ahead of a Trump visit last year to Saudi Arabia where he announced a massive arms deal, but the alliance proposal did not get off the ground, a U.S. source said.Sources from some of the Arab countries involved also said they were aware of renewed efforts to activate the plan. Officials from other potential participants did not respond to requests for comment."MESA will serve as a bulwark against Iranian aggression, terrorism, extremism, and will bring stability to the Middle East," a spokesperson for the White House's National Security Council said.The spokesperson declined to confirm that Trump would host a summit on those dates and sources cautioned that it remains uncertain whether the security plan will be finalized by mid-October.Similar initiatives by previous U.S. administrations to develop a more formal alliance with Gulf and Arab allies have failed in the past.Washington, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi accuse Iran of destabilizing the region, fomenting unrest in some Arab countries through proxy groups and increasingly threatening Israel.The alliance would put emphasis on Gulf heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates working closer together with the Trump administration on confronting Iran.It is unclear how the alliance could immediately counter Tehran but the Trump administration and its Sunni Muslim allies have joint interests in the conflicts in Yemen and Syria as well as defending Gulf shipping lanes through which much of the world's oil supplies are shipped.A senior Iranian official told Reuters that "under the pretext of securing stability in the Middle East, Americans and their regional allies are fomenting tension in the region." He said the approach would have “no result” beyond “deepening the gaps between Iran, its regional allies and the U.S.-backed Arab countries."Potentially a big obstacle to the planned alliance is a 13-month-old rift pitting Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Qatar, home to the largest U.S. air base in the region. Other Arab nations have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism, which it denies.While one source said the administration is concerned the quarrel could be an obstacle to the initiative, he and an Arab official both said Riyadh and Abu Dhabi had assured Washington the rift would not pose a problem to the alliance.The NSC spokesperson denied the rift was a hurdle.As Trump pursues his "America First" policy, the White House is eager to have U.S. allies worldwide shoulder more of the burden in confronting regional security threats.The UAE is ready to deploy more troops across the Middle East to counter its foes as it believes it can no longer rely on Western allies like the United States and Britain, UAE minister Anwar Gargash said on Thursday.Setting up a regional anti-missile defense shield, which the United States and Gulf countries have discussed for years without result, would be a goal for the alliance, a source familiar with the plan said, as well as training to upgrade the countries' militaries.Tension with Iran has increased since Trump announced in May that the United States was pulling out of a 2015 international deal to limit Tehran's nuclear ambitions.On Monday, Iran dismissed a warning from Trump that it risked dire consequences "the likes of which few throughout history have suffered before" if it made threats against the United States.
Trump seeks to revive 'Arab NATO' to confront Iran
Mueller's team has estimated it could take 8 to 10 days to present its case to the jury, suggesting the trial may last at least three weeks.
A TRUMP PARDON?
Mueller submitted 500 pieces of evidence, including tax filings and mortgage statements, and pictures of luxury watches and homes to illustrate Manafort's wealth. There are 35 potential witnesses, many of them bankers and accountants expected to verify documents and speak to Manafort's alleged intent to violate the law. Five witnesses were granted immunity.
Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for Trump, said no one facing trial should proceed expecting a pardon, but he did not rule one out. Giuliani said he and Jay Sekulow, another Trump lawyer, had told the president: "This would be a very bad thing to do now."
But once Mueller's Russia investigation ends, Giuliani told Reuters, “he has a right to consider it ... It’s his power.”
Mueller's team said it would not present evidence about any possible campaign collusion with Russia at the trial in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia, potentially saving it for a second Manafort trial in Washington in September.
Even so, prosecutors have asked permission to discuss Manafort's work for pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine, which they allege was a source of wealth he laundered through overseas bank accounts. Manafort is seeking to exclude information on the details of that work. The judge has yet to rule.
RUSSIAN CONNECTIONS?
If allowed, prosecutors may delve deeper into Manafort's Russian connections. Last month Mueller's team disclosed in a court filing what it said was a $10 million loan to Manafort from Oleg Deripaska, a magnate known to have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"It seems to me we’re seeing deeper ties that Manafort has had financially with his business deals in the Ukraine and with Russia," said Shanlon Wu, a former lawyer for Manafort associate Rick Gates, who pleaded guilty in February and is aiding Mueller's probe. "He could expose himself to further criminal culpability if he has to expose the full extent of those ties."
One transaction set to take center stage is an alleged quid pro quo arrangement between Manafort and a senior executive at the Federal Savings Bank, which public records show lent Manafort $16 million against New York properties in December 2016 and January 2017.
Prosecutors say the loans were a favor for Manafort bringing the executive, who sources say is Federal CEO Stephen Calk, into Trump's inner circle. Calk was named an adviser to the Trump campaign, and Democratic lawmakers say he inquired about, but did not get, a key Army post.
Federal did not respond to a request for comment.
Expected to be a key witness, Gates was Manafort's right-hand man for years and has knowledge of their offshore accounts and work for Deripaska and in Ukraine.
"Gates is going to be the narrator for this entire trial," said Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor in New York.
Mueller's team has indicted or secured guilty pleas from 32 people and three companies, including the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officials. Of the four former Trump aides ensnared by the probe, Manafort is the only one to go to trial.
Gates, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser on the campaign, have all pleaded guilty.
Trump denies any collusion. But Trump and his aides have struggled to control the damage from his acceptance at times of Putin’s denials that Russia interfered over the word of American intelligence agencies that it did.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would allow the federal government to shut down if Democrats refuse to back major changes to immigration laws his administration wants."I would be willing to 'shut down' government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall! Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!" Trump said on Twitter. 
Trump threatens US government shutdown over immigration
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not know about the 2016 meeting his son Don Jr and other campaign staff held at Trump Tower with a group of Russians who offered to provide damaging information about Democratic rival Hillary Clinton."I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr," Trump said in a post on Twitter, after a CNN report cited his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen as saying Trump had known about the meeting in advance.CNN, citing unidentified sources with knowledge of the matter, said Cohen was willing to make that assertion to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating whether Trump's presidential campaign had worked with Russia to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential election.Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating Cohen for possible bank and tax fraud, and for possible campaign law violations linked to a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, a person familiar with the investigation has told Reuters. The payment to Daniels, who says she had an intimate relationship with Trump, was meant to buy her silence over the affair.Trump suggested Cohen was implicating Trump in exchange for possible immunity on unrelated charges related to his businesses."Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam," Trump wrote in a series of Twitter posts, without adding details to support his claim. In another tweet, he again denied any collusion with Moscow and denounced the Mueller probe as a witch hunt.Cohen did not immediately return a request for comment on Trump's tweet. 
Trump says did not know of 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians