Paul Manafort trial: Government expects to rest its fraud case by end of week
CLOSE
The star witness at former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s fraud trial says he stole from his former boss because of personal struggles. AP’s Eric Tucker was in the court room and says it was “by far the most dramatic day of testimony.” (Aug. 7)
AP
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The government is expected to rest its tax and bank fraud case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort by Friday, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Prosecutor Greg Andres told U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III that the government expected to call eight additional witnesses and finish presenting evidence by week’s end.
Under Ellis’ constant prodding, the trial has moved at a swift pace and is expected to be completed ahead of the initial three-week estimate.
It was not immediately clear how long the defense planned to present its case.
In Wednesday’s testimony, Manafort’s longtime business partner Rick Gates revealed that he first disclosed the existence of their consulting firm’s foreign bank accounts to the FBI in 2014, long before the pair became targets of a government fraud investigation.
Gates testified that the government was investigating the movement of money out of Ukraine by former president Viktor Yanukovych, who was Manafort’s primary client.
Gates told a federal court jury that Manafort urged him to be truthful with agents.
The business partners were not required to provide federal investigators financial records that allegedly would have revealed millions of dollars they had hidden in offshore accounts, most of it in Cyprus.
Millions passed through those accounts, and the money was never disclosed to tax authorities, Gates testified this week.
This year, Gates pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying to the FBI and agreed to cooperate with investigators  in the case against his former partner.
Manafort faces 18 criminal counts of bank fraud and tax evasion, in part related to accusations that he failedto reveal the foreign accounts to federal tax authorities. The case does not directly deal with Manafort’s role as Donald Trump’s campaign manager.
“He (Manafort) said we did not need to disclose the foreign accounts to the accountants,†Gates said Wednesday.
Defense attorney Kevin Downing picked up where he left off Tuesday, hammering at the credibility of the government’s star witness, who acknowledged embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort during their partnership.
Posted!
1 of 15
2 of 15
3 of 15
4 of 15
5 of 15
6 of 15
7 of 15
8 of 15
9 of 15
10 of 15
11 of 15
12 of 15
13 of 15
14 of 15
15 of 15
he signed this year, which subjects him to a possible 100-year prison sentence if he provides false testimony.
“As you sit here today, do you have any doubt in your mind that if you lied, the special counsel’s office will rip up your plea agreement?†prosecutor Greg Andres asked.
“No,†Gates responded.
Gates’ testimony was followed by an FBI accountant who guided the jury through a document-intensive effort that linked Manafort to the network of foreign accounts in Cyprus, the Grenadines and the United Kingdom.
Morgan Magiones testified that she pieced together records provided by Manafort, his contractors and overseas banks to show that Manafort or others designated by Manafort controlled the accounts, whose assets were never reported to U.S. tax authorities.
From 2010 to 2014, the accounts held balances of up to $25.7 million, Magiones told the jury.
Michael Welch, a revenue agent for the IRS, testified later Wednesday that Manafort should have disclosed his control of foreign bank accounts on each of his tax filings for 2010 through 2014.
In a review of 32 foreign accounts associated with Manafort, Welch said about $16.4 million in unreported business income flowed from the offshore accounts to fuel Manafort’s purchases in the U.S. during that time. Those purchases included $6.6 million in real estate in 2012.
More: Six bombshells from Rick Gates’ testimony in the Paul Manafort trial
Also: Paul Manafort trial: Judge T.S. Ellis III known as taskmaster, unafraid to speak his mind
Related: Paul Manafort trial: Rick Gates admits padding expenses to pay for mistress, may have bilked inaugural committee
Posted!
1 of 14
2 of 14
3 of 14
4 of 14
5 of 14
6 of 14
7 of 14
8 of 14
9 of 14
10 of 14
11 of 14
12 of 14
13 of 14
14 of 14
Â