LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Rick Gates wrapped up his testimony Wednesday [8-8-18] in the trial of his onetime friend and boss, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, reiterating that the two men conspired to lie on their taxes and defraud banks. Mr. Gates admitted over three days to various crimes, including some he said he committed with Mr. Manafort and others he carried out on his own. He testified that Mr. Manafort directed him not to report the existence of offshore bank accounts that prosecutors allege were used to hide millions of dollars in income from the Internal Revenue Service and to help bankroll an extravagant lifestyle. Mr. Gates told jurors he had taken responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty in a deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office…Mr. Manafort is on trial on tax- and bank-fraud charges, in the first trial brought by Mr. Mueller. He has pleaded not guilty. He was chairman of the Trump campaign in 2016 for a few months before stepping down. The Manafort case doesn’t relate directly to Mr. Mueller’s task of investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and any possible coordination with Trump associates. Mr. Manafort has argued that Mr. Mueller is exceeding his authority with this prosecution, but a judge has rejected that assertion.”
–Del Quentin Wilber and Aruna Viswanatha, “Forensic Accountant Next Up in Manafort Trial as Gates Ends Testimony,” The Wall Street Journal, August 8, 2018 1:20 pm