7/31/2018

LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Paul Manafort’s trial on financial fraud charges opened on Tuesday [7-31-18] with an effort by his defense team to deflect blame to the government’s star witness in the case, Rick Gates, Mr. Manafort’s longtime political consulting partner. The defense strategy pits the credibility of Mr. Manafort, a former campaign chairman for President Trump, against that of Mr. Gates, who has pleaded guilty to charges in the same case and is cooperating in the inquiry led by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. And it sets up a dramatic courtroom showdown between Mr. Gates, who is scheduled to take the stand for the prosecution, and Mr. Manafort, who worked closely with him in aiding pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine for a decade and also in 2016 on Mr. Trump’s campaign. The trial, over charges that Mr. Manafort hid tens of millions of dollars he received for his work in Ukraine and then engaged in bank fraud when those funds dried up, got underway at a rapid clip. A jury of six men and six women was seated hours after the proceedings began in United States District Court in Alexandria, Va. By midafternoon, the prosecutors and the defense team were making their opening statements, laying out the contours of the case they intend to make to the jury.”

Sharon LaFraniere and Emily Baumgaertner, “Paul Manafort’s Defense Team Opens Trial by Blaming Associates,” The New York times online, July 31, 2018