Defense attorney Kevin Downing delivers a statement to journalists at the U.S. District Courthouse following closing arguments in former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's trial on bank and tax fraud charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., August 15, 2018.
A jury on Thursday will begin weighing the fate of Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman standing trial on bank and tax fraud charges that could put him behind bars.
The judge gave the jury of six men and six women in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, their final instructions on Wednesday after closing arguments.
During the two weeks of testimony, witnesses described how Manafort routed $16 million in income hidden in foreign bank accounts to U.S. vendors to purchase real estate, bespoke suits and antique rugs, income he is charged with omitting from his tax returns.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, calling her "a dog" as his fellow former reality TV star continued to publicly release recordings from her time in Trump's orbit.Their escalating feud was sparked by the release of a tell-all book, "Unhinged," by the former contestant on Trump's "The Apprentice," describing her year at the White House before her firing last December. Manigault Newman had been one of the Republican president's most prominent black supporters.In recent days, she has released audio of her firing by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and of a call from Trump in which he says he did not know about her dismissal.World leaders slam Trump’s sanctions, express support for TurkeyOn Tuesday, CBS News released another recording it said was unverified but appeared to be Manigault Newman and several Trump campaign aides in October 2016 discussing the potential fallout from a tape of Trump using a racial epithet during the taping of "The Apprentice."CBS News' parent company, CBS Corp, owns Simon and Schuster Inc, which published her book. CBS said the book also describes the conversation.Trump on Monday denied the existence of any such tape, citing the show's former producer, Mark Burnett. Some of the aides on the latest tape also denied the conversation.Reuters could not verify any of the recordings, and Burnett could not immediately be reached for comment.Trump signs defense spending billOn Twitter on Tuesday, Trump wrote, "When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn’t work out. Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog!"Critics condemned Trump for what they said were racial and sexist undertones."The president of the United States is calling a woman of color a dog? ... How dare he call anyone a dog?" Democratic U.S. Representative Frederica Wilson, who is also an African-American, told CNN.Asked whether Trump's language was appropriate, White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway did not answer directly but told Fox News she had never heard Trump "issue a racial slur about anyone."'Mueller case against Russian company can proceed': US judgeTrump brought on Manigault Newman, previously known for repeatedly being fired on NBC's "The Apprentice," as director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison.Manigault Newman has dismissed any legal concerns about taping conversations. On Monday, she told MSNBC that, if asked, she would give her recordings to the U.S. Special Counsel's Office investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion by the Trump campaign.Russia has denied meddling in the election and Trump has repeatedly called the Mueller probe a witch hunt.US prosecutors to wrap up Manafort case, may soon go to jury
Trump calls former Apprentice star turned White House aide 'a dog'
The case is the first to go to trial arising out of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, although the charges against Manafort largely predate his five months on the campaign.
Manafort, 69, a veteran political consultant, made his fortune bringing pro-Russian politician Viktor Yanukovych to power in Ukraine in 2010. When Yanukovych fled the country in 2014, the political work dried up and Manafort lied about his finances to get loans from banks, prosecutors said.
In their closing argument on Wednesday, defense counsel argued that prosecutors had not proved Manafort willfully committed any crimes. They said he trusted employees, his accountants and bookkeeper to handle his financial affairs, and at times misplaced that trust.
Peter Strzok, the FBI agent who came under fire from President Donald Trump and other Republicans for sending text messages that disparaged the candidate during the presidential campaign, was fired late on Friday, his attorney said on Monday.Strzok is the third high-ranking person to be fired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation during the Trump administration, including former Director James Comey. During his FBI career, Strzok rose to deputy assistant director, focusing on counterintelligence.After Justice Department internal investigators found the texts, Strzok was reassigned from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign. The firing came after a lengthy internal investigation.Strzok's attorney, Aitan Goelman, said in a statement that FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich made the decision to terminate his client.The decision, Goelman added, was at odds with a recommendation by the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility, which had called for Strzok to face a 60-day suspension and demotion from his supervisory responsibilities.He also said it went against promises that FBI Director Christopher Wray made in the past about adhering to proper processes on personnel matters.The FBI said in a statement it had followed its standard review and disciplinary process after the inspector general referred the Strzok case to the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility."OPR reviewed the investigative materials, as well as the written and oral responses of Mr. Strzok and his counsel, and issued OPR's decision. The deputy director, as the senior career FBI official, has the delegated authority to review and modify any disciplinary findings ... as deemed necessary," the statement said.Strzok's attorney Goelman, however, said that normally FBI personnel can appeal such decisions to a five-person review board. Goelman said the appeals step was bypassed in Strzok's case and the FBI did not follow the normal course afforded to other FBI agents.Trump took to Twitter not long after the news broke on Monday."Agent Peter Strzok was just fired from the FBI-finally," wrote Trump, who had called for Strzok's ouster before."The list of bad players in the FBI & DOJ gets longer & longer."A post under a newly created Twitter account under Strzok's name said he was "deeply saddened" by the decision to fire him.The post also linked to a GoFundMe page, which had raised more than $48,700 toward a $150,000 goal as of late Monday."All funds raised on this GoFundMe will be put into a trust dedicated to covering Pete’s hefty – and growing – legal costs and his lost income," the fundraising website says.Goelman said that his client's firing was politically motivated and that his texts represented political speech protected by the First Amendment.'RUSSIA THING'In March, Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe after a scathing report by the Justice Department's internal watchdog concluded he had leaked information to reporters and misled investigators about his actions.Comey was fired by Trump in May 2017 after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein helped write a memo that was critical of how Comey handled the FBI's probe into then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for official business.Later, however, Trump claimed he fired Comey over that "Russia thing," apparently referring to the FBI probe into whether his presidential campaign colluded with Russia. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion and called the investigation a witch hunt.Both Comey and McCabe said, however, they believe they were fired because they are key witnesses in Special Counsel Mueller's probe into whether Trump may have tried to obstruct the investigation.Strzok was deeply involved in the FBI's Clinton email investigation and was temporarily assigned to Mueller's office. He was removed from that post after his texts came to light.The texts were criticized by the Justice Department's inspector general in a recent report that examined the FBI's handling of the Clinton email probe. Republicans in Congress have repeatedly pointed to them as evidence the FBI is biased against Trump.'Mueller case against Russian company can proceed': US judgeUS prosecutors to wrap up Manafort case, may soon go to juryWhite nationalist rally dwarfed by opposition in US
FBI agent, who criticized Trump in text messages, is fired
The defense took direct aim at Rick Gates, Manafort's long-time right-hand man, who was charged in the same indictment but pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government.
Gates' testimony was the highlight of the trial, and defense attorney Kevin Downing sought to undercut his credibility as he described the married father of four's "secret life" in London, that Gates admitted included an extramarital affair.
But Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Andres told jurors in his closing that the star witness of the trial was "documents," and that, once the jury began deliberating, they should look at the exhibits to see how they corroborated Gates' testimony.
U.S. prosecutors on Monday plan to wrap up their tax and bank fraud case against former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, making it likely the case will go to the jury by midweek if the defense decides not to call any witnesses.The trial is in its 10th day in Alexandria, Virginia, federal court and is not scheduled to resume until Monday afternoon. The case arose from U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.Before completing their case, prosecutors will call James Brennan, an executive at the Federal Savings Bank. On Friday, a former salesman at Federal testified that the bank's chief executive personally approved $16 million in loans to Manafort while seeking Manafort's help getting a post in President Donald Trump's cabinet.The prosecution also wants to recall Paula Liss, an agent with the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The defense is seeking to block further questioning of her, and the judge has not yet ruled. Liss testified last week that Manafort did not disclose his foreign bank accounts.Manafort's lawyers will then face a choice: call their own witnesses or hope the prosecution's case is not strong enough to outweigh defense attacks on the credibility of Rick Gates and the testimony of more than two dozen other witnesses.Gates testified last week that Manafort, his former boss, directed him to help commit the tax and bank frauds, but the defense portrayed him as living a "secret life" of infidelity and embezzlement.Prosecutors contend Manafort hid a significant portion of the approximately $60 million he earned as a consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, then lied to borrow millions more in a bid to maintain an extravagant lifestyle when the Ukraine work dried up.Shanlon Wu, who represented Gates before he pleaded guilty in February and started cooperating with Mueller's probe, said he expected the defense to rest its case and move on to closing arguments.While the prosecution has built a solid case, Manafort's lawyers appeared to have raised some doubts about the testimony of Gates and other witnesses, Wu said."The big question is, did the government do enough to show willfulness," said Wu, who is no longer involved in the case and said he was speaking from knowledge of the publicly available evidence.If the defense decides not to call any witnesses, the court may on Monday hold a conference with the lawyers to decide what instructions should be given to the jury before they begin deliberations, Judge T.S. Ellis said on Friday.Closing arguments may take place on Tuesday. Ellis ordered each side to limit its summation to two hours.It was unclear if Ellis will make public the reason behind an unexpected recess on Friday that lasted into the midafternoon and included a lengthy discussion with the lawyers and judge at the bench, the contents of which remain under seal.Some legal experts have speculated that it may have been triggered by a problem with the jury after Ellis reminded jurors in unusual detail and multiple times about the defendant's presumed innocence, the need to "keep an open mind" about the trial and not to talk to anyone about the case."My sense is that it probably has to do with juror misconduct," said Joshua Dressler, a law professor at Ohio State. But it was not likely severe enough to prompt the judge to declare a mistrial, he said, noting Ellis resumed witness testimony on Friday afternoon.US senator says Russians have penetrated Florida election systemsUS Senator Paul delivers letter from Trump to PutinUS senator invites Russian lawmakers to Washington
US prosecutors to wrap up Manafort case, may soon go to jury
While some legal experts predicted the jury reach a decision before the weekend, others said the jury would likely deliberate longer, given the complexity and historic nature of the case.
"If this were a run-of-the-mill case, you could have a verdict Thursday afternoon or Friday because they don't want to come back Monday," said Gene Rossi, a former federal prosecutor who has watched parts of the trial. "This is a monumental case, and I would be surprised if they don't come back Monday to examine the jury instructions and the exhibits."
A Manafort conviction would undermine efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump and some Republican lawmakers to paint Mueller's inquiry as a political witch hunt, while an acquittal would be a setback for Mueller.
President Donald Trump asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to halt the special counsel probe into Russia's alleged election meddling on Wednesday.Sessions evoked Trump's ire last year when he announced he would recuse himself from the Russia probe because he had not disclosed his contacts with Russia's Washington ambassador during his Senate confirmation. Trump has publicly and privately fumed over the decision.After months of deriding Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, which is also examining possible Trump campaign collusion with Russia, the president directly appealed to his top law enforcement official to squash the investigation.Trump says attorney general should stop Mueller probe 'right now'"This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!" Trump wrote in a series of tweets.After Sessions stepped aside, the second in command at the Justice Department, Rod Rosenstein, has overseen the Mueller probe, making any action by Sessions unlikely.Prosecutors portray Trump's ex-campaign chief as a liar and tax cheatThe trial of Trump's former campaign manager began Tuesday. Paul Manafort is facing federal bank fraud and tax charges brought by Mueller.The trial is expected to last at least two weeks.In another tweet Wednesday, Trump said Manafort "worked for me for a very short time," despite the fact that Manafort worked for his campaign for half a year."Why didn’t government tell me that he was under investigation. These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion - a Hoax!" Trump said.In addition to seeking to determine the details of Russia's alleged interference in the election and the Trump campaign's possible cooperation with the effort, Mueller is also examining the president's potential obstruction of justice.His tweet Wednesday morning saying Sessions "should stop" Mueller raises new questions over obstruction.The White House said the president was voicing his opinion, not issuing an order to Sessions.
Trump calls on top lawyer to end special counsel probe