2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Paul Manafort’s accountants testified against the former Trump campaign chairman on Friday [8-3-18], telling jurors that loan amounts were fudged to help him on his taxes and that he did not disclose his financial stake in foreign companies. Testimony from the financial professionals who worked for Manafort are making up the meat of special counsel Robert Mueller’s case against Manafort, who is charged with 18 counts of tax and banking crimes. Testimony from Phil Ayliff and Cindy Laporta, who prepared Manafort’s taxes, also detailed their extensive dealings with Manafort’s longtime deputy, Rick Gates, who is poised to be a key witness in the trial. Gates pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s team in February after he was charged alongside Manafort last year. The case is the first that Mueller’s team has taken to trial as part of its broad investigation of Russian election interference in 2016, and the trial is occurring while the special counsel negotiates with President Donald Trump’s legal team about Trump being interviewed.”
–Katelyn Polantz, Jeremy Herb, Kara Scannell and Liz Stark, “Accountant testifies Manafort hid foreign income on taxes,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, August 3, 2018 5:32 pm