Manafort trial: Jury asks judge to redefine 'reasonable doubt' during first day of deliberations

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The defense in former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s tax and fraud trial has rested its case without calling any witnesses. AP’s Chad Day explains. (Aug. 14)
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ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal court jury failed to reach a verdict during the first day of deliberations in the financial fraud trial of Paul Manafort, and the panel recessed after submitting four questions to the judge overseeing the case.

Among the queries, jurors asked U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III to redefine the term “reasonable doubt.”

Jurors must find guilt beyond reasonable doubt in order to convict the former Trump campaign chairman of the 18 counts of tax and bank fraud lodged against him.

Ellis returned the panel to the courtroom late Thursday where he explained that the government was not required to prove the case beyond “all doubt.” He defined reasonable doubt as doubt “based on reason.”

Defense attorneys appealed to jurors in final arguments Wednesday to give careful consideration to the standard before rendering their decision. 

Jurors also asked the judge to clarify requirements for U.S. citizens to report financial interests in foreign bank accounts. Manafort is charged with four counts of failing to file reports of interests in off-shore accounts where prosecutors allege he shielded more than $15 million from U.S. tax authorities.

A third question requested a definition of shell companies, believed to be a reference to entities that Manafort allegedly created to accept payment and move money earned from his political consulting operation in Ukraine.

Ellis instructed the jury to rely on their understanding the term from the evidence presented.

The judge denied a fourth request that the panel be provided an amended exhibit list that corresponded directly with the 18 criminal counts filed in the case.

Jurors notified the judge of their questions more than six hours into their deliberations, prompting prosecutors and defense attorneys to rush back to the courthouse. In the courtroom, defense attorneys were joined by Manafort.

While it was unclear how the questions related to the jury’s deliberations, Manafort lead attorney Kevin Downing described the developments as a “good day.” He characterized the jury’s query about reasonable doubt as a “good sign.”

The panel of six men and six women began deliberating Thursday morning after two weeks of often-bruising testimony and blistering final arguments from prosecutors who described their case against the former Trump campaign chairman as “overwhelming.”

“It is now time for you to deliberate,” Ellis told the panel before they were excused shortly before 10 a.m., adding that the length of their discussions was totally up to them.

The judge said the panel would be moved to a larger space to accommodate the boxes of exhibits and evidence submitted by the government.

More: Why Paul Manafort hasn’t been wearing socks in court

“When you roll in everything that needs to be rolled in, it puts them in closer quarters than they might like,” Ellis told prosecutors and defense attorneys who were joined by Manafort in the ninth-floor courtroom.

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This courtroom sketch depicts Rick Gates, right, answering questions by prosecutor Greg Andres as he testifies in the trial of Paul Manafort, seated second from left, at the Alexandria Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Aug. 6, 2018. U.S. district Judge T.S. Ellis III presides as Manafort attorney’s including Kevin Downing, left, Thomas Zehnle, third from left, listen. Dana Verkouteren, APThis courtroom sketch depicts Paul Manafort, seated right row second from right, together with his lawyers, the jury, seated left, and the U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III, back center, listening to Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye, standing, during opening arguments in the trial of President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Manafort’s on tax evasion and bank fraud charges on July 31, 2018. Dana Verkouteren, AP

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prosecutors plowed through testimony about Manafort’s alleged control of foreign bank accounts and efforts to obtain bank loans totaling more than $20 million.

In addition to the nearly 400 government exhibits, personal notes taken by jurors throughout the trial and the testimony of 27 witnesses will go with the panel.

Chief among those witnesses was longtime Manafort business partner Rick Gates, who pleaded guilty this year to conspiracy and lying to the FBI as part of a deal to testify against Manafort.

Gates offered hours of testimony about Manafort’s alleged efforts to shield millions of dollars from U.S. tax authorities and the submission of fake loan applications to obtain millions more.

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Former President Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort hasn’t been wearing socks to court, and there’s an actual reason why. Veuer’s Sam Berman has the full story.
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Defense attorneys, who did not call witnesses on Manafort’s behalf, launched an aggressive assault on Gates’ credibility – seeking to place his character on trial. They highlighted Gates’ acknowledged embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort. They suggested that Gates – not Manafort – controlled the foreign bank accounts used to hide millions of dollars from federal tax authorities.

If convicted of the 18 criminal counts lodged against him, Manafort could face a life sentence in prison.

As they filed out of the courtroom Thursday, jurors clutched their black-and-white composition notebooks. Some carried two or three books with them.

 

 

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