LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Paul Manafort’s longtime bookkeeper testified Thursday [8-2-18] that Mr. Manafort and an associate appeared to use documents that inaccurately inflated their firm’s income to obtain bank loans, a central allegation in the prosecution by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office. Heather Washkuhn also testified that even though she kept close tabs on Mr. Manafort’s personal and business finances, she wasn’t aware that Mr. Manafort, a political consultant and former Trump campaign chairman, controlled more than a dozen offshore bank accounts, most of them in Cyprus. Mr. Manafort is charged with committing tax fraud, hiding offshore accounts from the Internal Revenue Service and lying to banks to obtain millions of dollars in loans. Most of the allegations predate his work on the Trump campaign, and none relate to Mr. Mueller’s core mandate to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mr. Mueller’s team alleges Mr. Manafort used the offshore accounts to finance a lavish lifestyle that included the purchase of expensive suits, electronics and homes.”
-Aruna Viswanatha and Del Quentin Wilber, “Bookkeeper Says Manafort Appeared to Inflate Income,” The Wall Street Journal, August 3, 2018 7:21 pm