2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Prosecutors in the Paul Manafort trial are evoking a world of swaggering fraud, concealed millions and personal betrayal that allegedly festered in the lives of two big-time political operatives at President Donald Trump’s side for crucial moments of his 2016 general election campaign. In potentially the key moment of Manafort’s tax and bank fraud trial, special counsel Robert Mueller’s star witness, Rick Gates, took the stand Monday for 78 minutes of blockbuster testimony. He lifted the lid on what is claimed to be a web of financial crimes that mocked taxpayers and bankrolled Manafort’s life of opulence — featuring gilded mansions and an ostrich skin jacket. Manafort has denied all the allegations against him. Gates — who has agreed to a plea deal in the hope of a reduced sentence — dramatically turned on his former business partner, who he said possessed one of the most ‘brilliant’ political minds he had ever encountered.”
-Stephen Collinson, “Gates and Manafort, a tale awash in hidden millions and betrayal,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, August 7, 2018 4:31 pm