Enlarge this image Former Trump campaign official Rick Gates arrives at the Prettyman Federal Courthouse on Friday in Washington, D.C. He confirmed that he is changing his plea to guilty. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Mark Wilson/Getty Images Former Trump campaign official Rick Gates arrives at the Prettyman Federal Courthouse on Friday in Washington, D.C. He confirmed that he is changing his plea to guilty. Mark Wilson/Getty Images This week in the Russia investigations: More newcomers join Mueller's roll of honor; the feds meet with state officials on election security; and Washington starts thinking about considering some potential planning to defend the 2018 midterms. GuiltyJustice Department special counsel Robert Mueller broke his own record this week for guilty pleas. On Tuesday, Dutch attorney Alex van der Zwaan appeared in federal court and admitted he had lied to investigators about his contacts with Donald Trump's former campaign vice chairman, Rick Gates. National Security Rick Gates Pleads Guilty And Begins Cooperating With Mueller's Russia Investigation On Friday, Gates himself appeared before a federal judge and confirmed that he is changing his plea to guilty. He had been fighting the case brought against him and the former Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, which alleged they laundered millions of dollars and broke other laws related to their work for clients in Ukraine.That makes the fourth and fifth pleas in the Russia imbroglio — but how much closer does it bring an answer to the question about whether the Trump campaign conspired with the Russians who attacked the 2016 election?Maybe not at all. National Security The Russia Investigations: Mueller Indicts The 'Internet Research Agency' Gates and Manafort have not been charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by "impairing, obstructing and defeating the lawful functions of the government through fraud and deceit for the purpose of interfering with the U.S. political and electoral processes." That was the charge Mueller leveled at 13 Russians and three Russian companies who he says did interfere with the election.Or the special counsel's office could be laying down one brick in a larger structure. At the very least, Gates' future testimony against his longtime business partner raises the likelihood that Manafort could be convicted of some or all of the charges he continues fighting.Manafort and his lawyers know this. So one of Mueller's strategies in getting Gates to turn state's evidence might be to persuade Manafort to do the same and tell what he knows about other people in the Trump campaign orbit.Or evidence from Gates might be what the special counsel's office needs to build a case against Manafort for conspiring in the 2016 Russian interference effort. Or, after years of working with Manafort, Gates might have other evidence that would permit Mueller to bring new charges against Manafort.Mueller announced a new indictment in Manafort's case on Friday evening. After Gates appeared in federal court Friday to enter his plea, Manafort continued to maintain his innocence and said he remained committed "to defend myself against the untrue piled up charges contained in the indictments against me." National Security As Mueller's Russia Probe Forges Ahead, Potential Legal Endgames Begin to Take Shape As usual, only Mueller's team knows where all this is headed. After nearly a year of work, however — on top of the previous FBI investigation that began in the summer of 2016 — some patterns and priorities are becoming clear.One is that the special counsel's office has a massive trove of information at its command, down to microscopic details about who said what to whom in which email sent when. It knew when Manafort was making particular edits in a certain Google document, for example.Another is that it has become adept — as shown by its five pleas — at concluding agreements that involve gaining the cooperation of onetime targets in its investigation. No one knows how far up the ladder that technique may enable Mueller to reach.Sound the alarm — but don't be alarmingIn an alternate universe, the big story this week might have been about the summit at which the nation's secretaries of state and other elections officials convened in Washington, D.C. They talked about the threats to voting in 2018, and they got a briefing from top federal national security officials, as NPR's Miles Parks reported. National Security Election Chiefs 'Straddle The Line Between Sounding The Alarm And Being Alarmist' One challenge, as our Parks wrote, is that state leaders want to strike a balance between warning voters about Russia's ongoing active measures but not scaring them so much they lose confidence in voting."I'm always trying to straddle the line between sounding the alarm on this issue and being alarmist," said Steve Simon, Minnesota's secretary of state. National Security Russian Threat To Elections To Persist Through 2018, Spy Bosses Warn Congress States say they're working though, preparing for cyberattacks like the ones that probed elections systems in 2016. And their once-chilly relationship with the federal government on the issue of election security is thawing somewhat, although state-level leaders also grumbled that the briefing they got didn't go into the levels of detail they wanted.That tension may never be resolved, especially after last year's unauthorized leak of a National Security Agency report about a cyberattack by Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU. National Security 5 Ways Election Interference Could (And Probably Will) Worsen In 2018 And Beyond It documented how much the NSA knows about one specific attempt to compromise a Florida elections vendor, but it was only a tantalizing view through a keyhole. Everyone knows there is more here behind the scenes. Rather than giving the public information at that same level of detail, the government is prosecuting the woman who allegedly released it. Enlarge this image Karina Smith holds her 2-year-old son Kyler as she fills out her ballot last November in Alexandria, Va. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Karina Smith holds her 2-year-old son Kyler as she fills out her ballot last November in Alexandria, Va. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Should somebody do something?Mueller's office changes the Russia imbroglio every time it acts. Few things, though, so far have created such a political reaction as the indictment of the Russian social media influencemongers.President Trump acknowledged the active measures after changing his position many times. Members of Congress began to call for more action. And although Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the DOJ Russia investigation, he got back into the game too. National Security As Washington Gears Up To Tackle Foreign Influence, How Effective Can It Be? Sessions called for the creation of a new cyber task force that will give him recommendations by June 30 for how the Justice Department's various agencies can tighten their electronic defenses.As Defense Department officials like to say, however, the enemy also gets a vote. So how much of the work that D.C. is undertaking might amount to generals preparing to fight the last war?The 2018 story is already different. America's spy bosses have warned unequivocally that the active measures campaign not only is coming back this year, but also it never stopped. So the United States — and especially its government agencies — won't be taken by surprise in the same way they were before.Unless, of course, they are because the attacks come in different form. National Security Mueller Indictment Of Russian Operatives Details Playbook Of Information Warfare Mueller's indictment last week of Russian operatives showed the extent of the preparations and ingenuity that Russia's intelligence agencies used in preparing the 2016 active measures.That indictment alleges that human operatives traveled to the United States to do reconnaissance years before the fact. Influencemongers used information stolen about real Americans to mask their identities. They sometimes connected to the Internet using a virtual private network that enabled them to appear to be inside the U.S. and so on. News Learn More About The Trump-Russia Imbroglio There are more than 100 Russian intelligence officers or other agents running around the United States, as the head of counterintelligence for the U.S. spy agencies told NPR in late 2016. (And those are just the ones he knows about.) So whatever the Russian intelligence agencies — the GRU, the foreign intelligence SVR or the more domestic-focused FSB — want to do, their people are likely already here in the U.S. doing it.The most optimistic view is the one held by people such as Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, who say the simple expectation of an attack has already spoiled how effective it could be."The American people are smart people," he said earlier this month. "They realize people are attempting to manipulate them, both domestically and foreign."No number of warnings about social media agitation, however, can inoculate an individual email user with a weak Gmail password or prevent the feeding frenzy in the press after embarrassing messages start to appear in public. And those are just the tactics we know about.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - An accountant for Paul Manafort, U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, was asked by a prosecutor on Monday at Manafort’s trial on tax and bank fraud charges about a $10 million loan from Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The accountant, Cindy Laporta, testified she was unaware if the loan, which the prosecutor said was “supposedly made in 2006,” was recognized as income. Reporting by Nathan Layne; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad ZarghamOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort again pleaded not guilty on Thursday to criminal charges in the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election and will face the first of two trials in July. Manafort pleaded not guilty in a Virginia courtroom to additional charges ranging from bank fraud to filing false tax returns that were brought by Robert Mueller, the U.S. special counsel for the Russia probe. Manafort also pleaded not guilty last week in Washington to related charges, including conspiracy to launder money, and failing to register as a foreign agent for the pro-Russia Ukrainian government of former President Viktor Yanukovich. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, based in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday set a tentative trial date for July 10. Manafort’s trial in Washington begins in September. Mueller is investigating alleged Russian interference in the election, possible obstruction of justice and alleged financial crimes by Manafort and others. Trump has denied his campaign colluded with Russia, and Moscow says it did not try to interfere in the election. None of the charges against Manafort make reference to alleged Russian interference in the election nor the accusations of collusion between Moscow and Trump’s campaign. Manafort has been under increasing pressure to cooperate with Mueller’s probe, especially after his former business partner and former Trump aide Rick Gates pleaded guilty last month to lying to investigators and conspiring to defraud the United States. Paul Manafort (R), former campaign manager for U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives for an arraignment at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Brian SnyderProsecutors in Washington have alleged that Manafort laundered more than $30 million and duped banks into lending money. They say he used funds from secret offshore accounts to enjoy a life of luxury. Also on Thursday, another of Trump’s former campaign managers, Corey Lewandowski, was interviewed for a second time by the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, which has its own investigation into possible Russian election meddling. After the hearing, committee members said Lewandowski had refused to answer many of their questions. Adam Schiff, the panel’s top Democrat, told reporters after the testimony that members of his party had requested that Lewandowski be subpoenaed. Republicans, who control the committee, have not decided whether they would do so. Lewandowski helped Trump win the Republican presidential nomination, running his campaign for around 18 months. He was fired in June 2016 after he clashed with other advisers over how to appeal to the broader general electorate after Trump won the nomination. Manafort then ran the campaign for several months. At Thursday’s hearing, Manafort and his lawyers indicated that he fully intends to contest the charges. Judge Ellis, expressing concern that Manafort still posed a substantial risk of flight, said he was considering stepping up restrictions on his movement from his current status of home confinement to the home incarceration. Paul Manafort (C), former campaign manager for U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives with his wife Kathleen (R), for an arraignment at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Brian SnyderHowever, the judge agreed that Manafort should still be subject to the less-rigorous home confinement but that he must now wear two wrist bracelets, enabling probation officials based in both Washington and Virginia to monitor his movements. Lawyers told the judge details of a $10 million bail package was still being finalized, which ultimately could lead to easing of restrictions on Manafort’s movements. Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann from Mueller’s office said he expected a Manafort trial on the Virginia charges would last eight to ten days and would involve the calling of 20-25 prosecution witnesses. Reporting by Katanga Johnson and Mark Hosenball; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

US government prosecutors made global headlines this week with tales of former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort’s terrible taste. Having raked in millions from a Ukrainian kleptocrat, he magicked that money out of his Cypriot shell companies and into an array of boxy suits, ostrich and “blue lizard” jackets, unfathomably expensive rugs, and luxury houses replete with wisteria-lined pergolas.His story is not unique, however. Manafort’s trial for bank and tax fraud is a case study in how Western elites help plunder young democracies.One of Washington’s most skillful political operators, Manafort entered Ukraine to help rebrand the Kremlin-backed politician Viktor Yanukovych. By 2010, Yanukovych was president. During his four years in office, up to $100 billion was stolen stolen from the country—more than its entire 2016 GDP.Manafort’s share of the spoils was allegedly $60 million.He would be far from the only Westerner to feed at this trough. Political operators from the Trumpian right to the Bernie Sanders left worked on Yanukovych campaigns. Dig into the world’s most power-hungry kleptocrats, and, as Quartz has found, you’ll almost certainly uncover a cabal of Western PR shills, lawyers, real estate agents, and business intelligence operatives laundering their wealth and reputation.Kleptocracy doesn’t just harm the countries whose coffers are being emptied. When Western experts fill their pockets with money from corrupt leaders abroad, they tend to bring a bit of that corruption back home with them. Autocrats enmesh those around them in a global system of shady transactions and opaque power agreements, leaving their enablers morally and financially compromised. Once those Westerners reach powerful roles at home—like campaign chief for the Republican presidential nominee—that puts the entire democratic system in peril.Manafort reached the pinnacle of his power desperately in debt, owing $19 million to an oligarch close to the Kremlin. He allegedly tried to patch things up by offering the tycoon inside information on the Trump campaign. He also allegedly promised a government role to a banker in exchange for fraudulent loans, in the kind of patronage system that destroys good governance and opens those in power to blackmail.Manafort’s lawyers claim he went to Ukraine to build a Western-style democracy. Instead, he appears to have brought post-Soviet values—and a truly oligarchic fashion sense—to the US.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty on Thursday to additional criminal charges ranging from bank fraud to filing false tax returns. U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller brought them as part of a wide-ranging probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, possible obstruction of justice, and alleged financial crimes by Manafort and others. Trump has denied that his campaign colluded with Russia. Reporting by Katanga Johnson and Mark Hosenball; Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - Rick Gates, a longtime business associate of U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, on Monday testified that he helped Manafort file false tax returns and hide his foreign bank accounts. Gates is the government’s star witness in its case against Manafort, who is accused of bank and tax fraud. Gates, who also served on Trump’s campaign, pleaded guilty in February and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors under a deal that could lead to a reduced sentence. Taking the stand on the trial’s fifth day, Gates admitted to helping Manafort doctor financial statements, hide foreign income and cheat on his taxes. He said he was aware Manafort was acting as an unregistered foreign agent in lobbying for Ukraine. He said he engaged in the wrongdoing at Manafort’s direction. “At Mr. Manafort’s request we did not disclose foreign bank accounts,” Gates told the jury in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Manafort’s defense hinges on pinning the blame on Gates, who they accuse of embezzling millions of dollars from Manafort. Gates, who first met Manafort working for him as an intern fresh out of college, has been described by witnesses as Manafort’s right-hand man in his multimillion-dollar political consulting business. Throughout his testimony, Gates largely avoided making eye contact with Manafort, who appeared to be watching him. In addition to assisting in Manafort’s alleged crimes, Gates told the jury he had failed to report income he routed through his bank accounts in the United Kingdom and said he stole several hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort by filing false and inflated expense reports. Those admissions are likely to become a focal point for Manafort’s defense team when he is cross examined on Tuesday. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of bank and tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. The charges largely predate his five months on the Trump campaign. His case is the first to go to trial arising from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. The jury has heard how Manafort made tens of millions of dollars for work with pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine. Mueller is also investigating possible coordination between Trump campaign members and Russian officials in the election campaign, but the charges against Manafort do not address that. Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is shown in a court room sketch, during a testimony of a longtime business associate Rick Gates (not shown), on the fifth day of his trial, on bank and tax fraud charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., August 6, 2018. Judge T.S. Ellis (rear C) looks on. REUTERS/Bill Hennessy Gates also testified about how wealthy Ukrainian businessmen paid Manafort millions of dollars for his political services through wire transfers to Cyprus-based accounts that were set up for Manafort by a lawyer and local politician known as “Dr. K.” “He indicated that the Ukrainian businessmen...had directed him to set up Cyprus accounts because the payments would be coming from Cyprus,” Gates said when asked to explain the payment structure. Gates also testified that both he and Manafort had control over the foreign accounts, as well as Manafort’s business associate Konstantin Kilimnik. Kilimnik is a Russian-Ukrainian political consultant who was indicted in June on charges stemming from the Mueller probe. In court filings, Mueller has accused Kilimnik of having ties to Russian intelligence services, an allegation he has denied. Gates testified that Manafort told him to report overseas income as loans to lower Manafort’s taxable income, supporting the testimony of his accountant. “When income came into the company, Mr. Manafort directed whether it would be treated as income ...or loans,” Gates said. The jury heard testimony on Friday and Monday from accountant Cynthia Laporta, who described how Manafort and Gates doctored financial statements and backdated loans. Gates admitted in testimony on Friday that he had lied to Laporta, as well as other accountants and Manafort’s bookkeeper. In questioning Laporta on Monday, a prosecutor asked her about a $10 million loan purportedly received by Manafort from Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska in 2006. Laporta said she had no indication that the loan from Deripaska had been paid off. Since the trial started before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis last Tuesday, Manafort’s lawyers have kept their cross-examinations brief and at times refrained from attempting to rebut damaging testimony in detail. But Laporta’s testimony raised the stakes for Manafort. Testifying under immunity, she was the first witness to admit she knew accounting maneuvers Manafort and Gates requested of her were wrong and could be crimes. One accounting trick saved Manafort $500,000 in taxes, she said. Under cross examination on Monday, defense attorney Kevin Downing attempted to show that Gates was the point person in dealing with the accountants. But while Laporta acknowledged that she regularly communicated with Gates, she said she believed Manafort was in the know. Slideshow (4 Images)“In most instances it was clear Mr. Manafort knew what was going on,” Laporta said. On redirect, prosecutor Uzo Asonye used a spreadsheet to show that Manafort’s firm had earned $31 million in gross receipts between 2010 and 2014 - half the amount prosecutors say he netted during the same time frame in Ukraine. Reporting by Nathan Layne, Sarah N. Lynch and Karen Freifeld in Alexandria, Virginia, Warren Strobel; Editing by Grant McCool and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Update: Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, was convicted on Tuesday in his financial fraud trial, bringing a dramatic end to a politically charged case that riveted the capital. Read the latest, here.The jury in the financial fraud trial of Paul Manafort asked the judge on Tuesday for instructions on how to fill out the verdict sheet if jurors are having trouble reaching consensus on a single one of the 18 counts.Judge T.S. Ellis III called the jurors into the courtroom after receiving a note with their question, and asked them to keep deliberating to reach a verdict on all counts.Out of the jury’s hearing, Judge Ellis told prosecutors and Mr. Manafort’s defense lawyers that if the jury could not come to unanimous agreement on all counts, he would consider accepting a partial verdict.It was not immediately clear if the jurors’ question suggested that they had reached a verdict on 17 of the 18 counts of bank and tax fraud brought against Mr. Manafort, a former campaign chairman for President Trump.The jury’s note to Judge Ellis asked: “If we cannot come to a consensus on a single count, how should we fill out the jury verdict sheet for that count, and what does that mean for the final verdict?”The jury said it would “need another form, please.”The question from the jury came on the fourth day of deliberations following a two-week trial. During the trial, prosecutors built a case that Mr. Manafort hid millions of dollars in foreign accounts to evade taxes and lied to banks repeatedly to obtain $20 million in loans.The trial is the first stemming from the inquiry led by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russian interference in the 2016 election.It did not touch on Russia’s efforts to influence the election or on whether Mr. Trump had sought to obstruct the investigation. But it is the first test of the special counsel’s ability to prosecute a case in a federal courtroom amid intense criticism from the president and his allies that the inquiry is a biased and unjustified witch hunt.The case centered on how Mr. Manafort handled the tens of millions of dollars he earned in Ukraine as an adviser to politicians aligned with Russia.Mr. Manafort also faces another trial next month in federal court in Washington, D.C., on separate charges related to the same case.

Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty on Thursday to additional criminal charges ranging from bank fraud to filing false tax returns. His trial will begin on 10 July.US special counsel Robert Mueller brought the charges as part of a wide-ranging investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, possible obstruction of justice, and alleged financial crimes by Manafort and others.Trump has denied that his campaign colluded with Russia.Manafort has also pleaded not guilty to separate charges including conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy against the United States. His trial on those charges is due to begin on 17 September.Manafort was Trump’s campaign manager for five months in 2016. He was originally indicted last year with Gates, Trump’s former deputy campaign manager.Gates agreed to cooperate with Mueller as part of a plea deal to charges that he lied to investigators and conspired against the United States.Gates’ move was seen as adding to pressure on Manafort to cut a deal himself but he said in a statement after Gates’ plea deal that he maintained his innocence. Topics Paul Manafort Donald Trump Trump-Russia investigation Russia Robert Mueller news

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal judge overseeing the second trial of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chairman, ruled on Wednesday that a federal investigation of possible collusion between the campaign and Russia cannot be discussed during the trial. FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort departs from U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File PhotoThe collusion investigation being led by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is “wholly irrelevant to the charges in this case,” Judge Amy Berman Jackson said during a pre-trial hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Manafort was convicted last month in Virginia of charges including bank and tax fraud in what was the first trial arising from Mueller’s investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. election. Jackson said on Wednesday that while prosecutors may present evidence used in that trial, the jury will not be allowed to hear about Manafort’s conviction. She also said she plans to deny a request by Manafort’s defense attorneys to move the trial to different court, saying that a concern about the political affiliations of the jury pool in Washington, D.C., is “not a lawful basis” for a venue transfer. During the trial, which begins with jury selection on Sept. 17 and opening arguments Sept. 24, Manafort will face seven counts, including conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to defraud the United States, failing to register as a foreign agent for the pro-Russia Ukrainian government, making false statements and witness tampering. Manafort, a long-time Washington lobbyist who was with Trump’s campaign from March through August in 2016, was convicted on Aug. 21 on eight counts in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, related to bank fraud, tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. The jury deadlocked on 10 other charges and prosecutors have not yet announced if they will seek to retry him. The decision by Jackson to exclude testimony about the Russia collusion investigation is not a surprise. None of the charges are related to alleged collusion and Judge T.S. Ellis made a similar ruling ahead of the Virginia trial as part of an effort to keep politics out of it. Discussion of Manafort’s role in the Trump campaign will come up only in connection with alleged false statements he made about his foreign lobbying activities after critical media reports surfaced during the end of his stint as campaign chairman, prosecutors said Wednesday. Prosecutors also indicated they do not yet know whether they plan to call as a witness Manafort’s former business partner Rick Gates, who has pleaded guilty in the Muller probe. In the first trial Gates testified he helped Manafort doctor financial statements, hide foreign income and cheat on his taxes. The jury decided to disregard his testimony and focus on the documentary evidence, a juror said. Manafort’s lawyers revealed they are working to retain an expert witness who may testify at trial. They did not call witnesses in his first trial. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Bill TrottOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The prosecutors have tried to punch pre-emptive holes in the notion that Mr. Gates is an untrustworthy turncoat and that Mr. Manafort was a sought-after political consultant who was too busy to notice Mr. Gates was falsifying his financial records. While Mr. Gates was the one who demanded accountants give him copies of financial statements in PDF format so he could convert them to Word and alter them, some of the falsified documents bear Mr. Manafort’s signature.And Mr. Manafort told the accountants that he had no foreign bank accounts, although prosecutors claim that millions of dollars flowed through his accounts in Cyprus and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Late last week, out of the jury’s hearing, Judge T.S. Ellis III of the United States District Court in Alexandria said prosecutors had proved both that Mr. Manafort personally denied that those accounts existed and that he controlled them.Mr. Gates was a religious college student when he entered Mr. Manafort’s orbit in the mid-1990s, accepting an internship as a researcher at a pioneering consulting outfit co-founded by Mr. Manafort that did political and lobbying work for corporations and foreign politicians, including the lottery operator Gtech, the Trump Organization and the Philippine dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.Mr. Manafort left the firm the year Mr. Gates arrived. But they continued traveling in the same circles as Mr. Gates impressed remaining partners, whom he occasionally chauffeured between the firm’s Alexandria offices and meetings in Washington.“Very smart. Good work ethic. He was a guy I thought would go places someday,” said Charlie Black, a co-founder of the firm, who offered Mr. Gates the internship at the recommendation of a friend, and then hired him full-time afterward. “I didn’t know where he would end up, but I always liked him. I still do.”Mr. Gates joined up with Mr. Manafort in 2006 to help with business ventures in Ukraine that sprang from Mr. Manafort’s work on behalf of Russia-aligned oligarchs and the politicians they supported, including the man Mr. Manafort helped elect president, Viktor F. Yanukovych.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted on Tuesday of eight counts of financial wrongdoing, giving Special Counsel Robert Mueller a victory in the first trial arising from his investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. election. After almost four days of deliberations, a 12-member jury found Manafort guilty on two counts of bank fraud, five counts of tax fraud and one charge of failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. The jury in U.S. federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, said it could not reach a verdict on 10 of the 18 counts with which Manafort was charged. Judge T.S. Ellis declared a mistrial on those counts. While the charges against Manafort mostly predate his work on President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, the guilty verdict triggered an outburst from Trump, who has repeatedly sought to distance himself from Manafort while denouncing the Mueller investigation as a “witch hunt”. “Paul Manafort is a good man. ... It doesn’t involve me, but I still feel - you know, it’s a very sad thing that happened,” Trump said before a rally in West Virginia on Tuesday night. “This has nothing to do with Russian collusion.” Manafort’s conviction on the eight counts came in the same hour that Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty in New York to campaign finance violations and other charges. Manafort stood quietly while the verdict was being read by the clerk. It represented a stunning fall for Manafort, a well-known figure in Republican politics for decades. Related CoverageFollow the money: how Mueller's team made the Manafort caseFactbox: Under investigation or convicted - current and ex-Trump aides facing scrutiny Manafort’s lawyer, Kevin Downing, told reporters afterward that his client was disappointed in the verdict and was evaluating his options. “He is trying to soak it all in,” Downing told Reuters. Mueller’s office declined comment on the verdict. Prosecutors accused Manafort of hiding from U.S. tax authorities $16 million he earned as a political consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine to fund an opulent lifestyle and then lying to banks to secure $20 million in loans after his Ukrainian income dried up and he needed cash. The two bank fraud charges on which he was convicted each carry a potential prison term of up to 30 years. But several sentencing experts predicted Manafort, 69, would receive a prison term of about 10 years. Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, warned that any attempt by Trump to use his presidential powers to pardon Manafort or interfere in Mueller’s probe “would be a gross abuse of power and require immediate action by Congress.” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said in a statement: “There have yet to be any charges or convictions for colluding with the Russian government by any member of the Trump campaign in the 2016 election.” FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort departs from U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File PhotoMoscow has denied interfering in the 2016 election and Trump has said there was no collusion. David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Miami, said the guilty verdict on eight of 18 counts was “a significant victory” for Mueller and that “the mistrial on the remaining 10 counts is a shallow victory for the defense.” Manafort was convicted on all five charges of filing false tax returns. Prosecutors provided evidence he did not report $16 million in overseas income from 2010 to 2014 but used it to purchase clothes and real estate and renovate his homes. The jury found him guilty for failing to report his overseas bank holdings in just one of the four years cited. Manafort’s lawyers sought to portray the law as complex and raised questions about whether Manafort willfully broke it, a notion that may have given some jurors pause. They were hung on three other related counts. Manafort was found guilty on two counts of bank fraud, one involving a $3.4 million mortgage on a Manhattan condominium and a $1 million business loan. In both cases, the evidence showed Manafort provided false information in order to get the loans. The jury was hung on seven other bank fraud counts, however, including all five conspiracy charges, possibly because the jurors doubted the credibility of Rick Gates, Manafort’s former right-hand man, who pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution. One count on which the jury was hung was a $5.5 million loan that did not close. Ellis, who was hard on the prosecution throughout the trial, questioned in open court why the government was pursuing a charge on a loan that never materialized, a comment that drew criticism from legal experts and prompted an official complaint from Mueller’s team. Ellis gave the prosecution until Aug. 29 to decide whether to retry Manafort on the charges on which the jury deadlocked. As a result, the judge did not set a sentencing date for the charges on which Manafort was found guilty. Slideshow (6 Images)So far, no jurors have spoken to the media and their names were not made public so it is unclear how they determined their verdict. Manafort now faces a second trial on Sept. 17 in Washington in which he is charged with money laundering, failing to register as a lobbyist in the United States for his work for pro-Kremlin politicians in Ukraine, and obstruction of justice. The second trial promises to delve deeper into Manafort’s Russian connections, including his relationship with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Ukranian-Russian political consultant who was indicted along with Manafort and who Mueller says has ties to Russian intelligence. Reporting by Karen Freifeld, Nathan Layne and Ginger Gibson in Alexandria, Va.; Additional reporting by Pete Schroeder and Katanga Johnson in Alexandria and Jonathan Landay in Washington; Writing by Warren Strobel and Alistair Bell; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter CooneyOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the news media about the federal conviction of his former presidential campaign chairman Paul Manafort as the president arrives for a campaign event in Charleston, West Virginia, U.S. August 21, 2018. REUTERS/Leah MillisCHARLESTON, W.Va. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump tried to distance himself from his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s conviction on Tuesday on bank and tax fraud charges, saying it did not involve him. “I feel very badly for Paul Manafort,” Trump said as he arrived in West Virginia for a rally on Tuesday night. “It does not involve me,” he said. “It has nothing to do with Russian collusion, we continue the witch hunt,” Trump said. (This version of the story has been refiled to fix Trump quote in headline and paragraph two) Reporting by James Oliphant; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by David AlexanderOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jair Bolsonaro’s first official visit to the US had all the drama of a Brazilian soap opera – intrigue, betrayal, family, controversy.But viewers back home in Brazil were left divided: a disastrous interview with Fox News prompted starkly contrasting verdicts, captured in the two trending hashtags: #BolsonaroShamesBrazil (#BolsonaroEnvergonhaOBrasil) and #Bolsonaro Pride of Brazil (#BolsonaroOrgulhoDoBrasil).Even in Washington, Bolsonaro was not able to escape the internal battles which have dogged his administration since he took office in January.On Sunday night, former White House adviser Steve Bannon hosted a screening of a film about Bolsonaro’s ideological guru, the philosopher and conspiracy theorist Olavo de Carvalho who has clashed with members of the Brazilian government and called the vice-president, Hamilton Mourão, an “idiot”.“I love this guy Bolsonaro, but he’s surrounded by traitors,” de Carvalho said.On Sunday, de Carvalho and Bannon flanked Bolsonaro at an “opinion formers” dinner where the finance minister Paulo Guedes hailed De Carvalho as “the leader of the revolution”.Guedes and Bolsonaro were applauded when they addressed investors on Monday with a free-market message.“It was basically love at first sight. In the economic sense, obviously, I’m not homophobic,” Bolsonaro said of Guedes.But such language boomeranged later that night when he was interviewed on Fox News.“The far-right former army captain has a long history of making comments that are antithetical to American values, especially when it comes to the LGBT community,” Fox said in introducing him.As Maurício Santoro, a professor of international relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro noted: “When Fox news says that Bolsonaro is extreme right, there is nowhere to run.”Bolsonaro floundered when questioned on his prejudices and his family’s links to paramilitary gangs – and then endorsed Trump’s border wall and cast aspersions on migrants.“The vast majority of potential immigrants do not have good intentions,” he said unleashing a hurricane of online protest from Brazil, a nation of immigrants and emigrants (over a million Brazilians live in the United States).But Bolsonaro turned it around when he met Trump on Tuesday, gushing praise for Trump who beamed and lapped it up. “I have always been a great admirer of the United States, and this admiration increased with the arrival of your excellency in the presidency,” Bolsonaro told him.They had plenty in common: God, family values, a hatred of socialism and extra-official roles for family members.Both countries were dedicated to the “guarantee of freedoms respecting the traditional family, in the fear of God, our Creator, [and] oppose gender ideology, politically correctness and fake news,” Bolsonaro said.The Brazilian president has himself been accused of using “fake news” to smear a newspaper reporter covering an investigation into his son’s former aide.But the words were enough to draw praise from Trump – who also singled out Bolsonaro’s congressman son Eduardo for praise. “He’s been fantastic,” Trump said.Like Ivanka Trump, Eduardo plays an outsized role in Bolsonaro’s government, and appeared to overshadow foreign minister Ernesto Araújo during the visit.Bolsonaro came away with a deal that will open up a satellite base in the north-east of Brazil to American companies, and Trump’s promise of support for Brazil’s bid to join the OECD, an economic club of rich countries.“A big success for the Bolsonaro administration,” said one diplomatic source with knowledge of the negotiations. “A moderate success for Brazil.”Neither man mentioned the fact that China – currently embroiled in a trade war – is now Brazil’s main investment and trade partner. Hours after meeting Trump, Bolsonaro announced that he will visit Beijing later this year.“Trump promised economic and military alliances and he treated Bolsonaro like a true equal leader in the public eye,” said Wendy Schiller, chair of political science at Brown University. “But unless it’s followed up by concrete moves by US on trade six months from now I’m not sure it’s going to be such a big plus.” Topics Brazil Jair Bolsonaro Donald Trump Americas features

Paul Manafort, the former head of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign who had a long business relationship with a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician, was found guilty on eight criminal counts by a federal jury in Virginia today (Aug. 21), including five counts of tax fraud.The jury could not decide on 10 more charges against Manafort, however.Manafort and business partner Richard Gates were charged with multiple counts of criminal behavior last October, amid the federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election. Most of the charges against Manafort in this trial date from before his time as Trump’s campaign manager. A separate trial in Washington DC next month will address other issues.The jury in Virginia found Manafort guilty of five counts of tax fraud, each of which could carry a three-year sentence, and two counts of bank fraud, each of which could each carry a maximum 30-year sentence. He also was convicted on one count of failing to file on his overseas bank accounts with the US Treasury Department, which could carry a five-year sentence. The combined maximum penalty for all counts would have him face 80 years in jail.Manafort and another former partner were charged with another seven counts in June, including making false statements, obstruction of justice, and failing to register as a foreign lobbyist, charges that will be tried in the Washington courtroom.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong’s airport halted flights on Monday, blaming demonstrators for the disruption, while China said the anti-government protests that have swept the city over the past two months had begun to show “sprouts of terrorism”. The airport authority said it was working with airlines to resume flights from 6 a.m. on Tuesday, but the developments raised the stakes sharply after a weekend of skirmishes during which both activists and police toughened their stances. The precise trigger for the airport’s closure was not clear, since protesters occupying the arrivals hall for four days have been peaceful. Most of them had left shortly after midnight, but around 50 remained, discussing their next move. “This is about our freedom,” a 24-year-old protester wearing a mask, who gave his name only as Yu, told Reuters during the evening. “Why should we leave?” Some Hong Kong legal experts say official descriptions of some protesters’ actions as terrorism could lead to the use of extensive anti-terror laws and powers against them. China’s People’s Armed Police also assembled in the neighboring city of Shenzhen for exercises, the state-backed Global Times newspaper said. The Communist Party’s official People’s Daily newspaper said on the Twitter-like Weibo that the force can handle incidents including riots or terrorist attacks. Hong Kongers responded by taking to the streets again. Crowds picketed a police station, singing hymns. Hundreds of people returned to a subway station, where police had hit activists with batons, to protest against heavy-handed tactics. The increasingly violent demonstrations have plunged the Chinese-ruled territory into its most serious crisis in decades, presenting Chinese leader Xi Jinping with one of his biggest challenges since he came to power in 2012. Related CoverageU.S. urges all sides to refrain from violence in Hong Kong: officialCanada's Trudeau extremely concerned about Hong Kong, urges China to be careful“Hong Kong has come to a critical juncture,” said Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office spokesman Yang Guang in Beijing. “Protesters have been frequently using extremely dangerous tools to attack the police in recent days, constituting serious crimes with sprouts of terrorism emerging.” The protests began in opposition to a bill allowing extraditions to the mainland for trial in Communist-controlled courts, but have widened to highlight other grievances, winning broad support. Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the “one country, two systems” arrangement enshrining some autonomy for Hong Kong when China took it back from Britain in 1997. Hong Kong is the world’s busiest air cargo port and the 8th busiest by passenger traffic, handling 73 million passengers a year. The airport has been filled with anti-government protesters for four days. The mostly young black-clad protesters have chanted slogans such as “No rioters, only tyranny!” and “Liberate Hong Kong!” while approaching travelers with flyers describing their demands and explaining the unrest. U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said they were “bravely standing up to the Chinese Communist Party,” and that a violent crackdown would be completely unacceptable. The activists at the airport have been polite and passengers mostly unperturbed. “I was expecting something, given all the news,” one arrival, Gurinda Singh, told Reuters. “I’m just pleased my plane arrived and the protests here seem peaceful.” Anti-extradition bill protesters rally at the departure hall of Hong Kong airport in Hong Kong, China August 12, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas PeterSome activists moved to the departure area and caused disruptions, police told a news conference as the cancellations were announced. Earlier in the day, police declined to say if they would move to clear the demonstrators. There was no visible police presence in either the departure or arrivals area. “Airport operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been seriously disrupted as a result of the public assembly at the airport today,” the city’s airport authority said in a statement, without elaborating. About 190 flights were affected, Chinese aviation data firm VariFlight said, though planes already en route to Hong Kong were allowed to land. Malaysia Airlines said it would be cancelling its flights between Malaysia and Hong Kong until Tuesday afternoon. Demonstrators threw up barricades across Hong Kong at the weekend, as police fired tear gas into crowded underground train stations as well as rubber bullets and pepper pellets at close range. In response, protesters have sought to channel a Bruce Lee maxim: “Be water,” employing a flash-mob strategy to frustrate authorities and stretch their resources. Still, scores of protesters were arrested, sometimes after being beaten with batons and bloodied by police. One young female medic was hospitalized after being hit by a pellet round in the right eye. Demonstrators were also angered by the use of undercover police, dressed as protesters. Slideshow (24 Images)Hundreds of people returned on Monday to the scene of some of the clashes to protest against the use of force. China has used the threat of terrorism to justify tough measures in its regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, which have been criticized by rights groups and Western governments. It warned them off on Monday as well. “Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong and Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement. China has also put pressure on big companies, such as Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK), whose shares tumbled to a 10-year low on Monday after it was told to suspend staff engaged in illegal protests. Reporting by Greg Torode, Clare Jim, Vimvam Tong, Felix Tam, Noah Sin, Brenda Goh, Twinnie Siu, James Pomfret, Farah Master, Anne Marie Roantree and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong. Additional reporting by Tony Munroe in Beijing; Writing by Tom Westbrook; Editing by James Pomfret and Mark HeinrichOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted on Tuesday of eight counts of financial wrongdoing, giving Special Counsel Robert Mueller a victory in the first trial arising from his investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. election. After almost four days of deliberations, a 12-member jury found Manafort guilty on two counts of bank fraud, five counts of tax fraud and one charge of failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. The jury in U.S. federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, said it could not reach a verdict on 10 of the 18 counts with which Manafort was charged. Judge T.S. Ellis declared a mistrial on those counts. While the charges against Manafort mostly predate his work on President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, the guilty verdict triggered an outburst from Trump, who has repeatedly sought to distance himself from Manafort while denouncing the Mueller investigation as a “witch hunt”. “Paul Manafort is a good man. ... It doesn’t involve me, but I still feel - you know, it’s a very sad thing that happened,” Trump said before a rally in West Virginia on Tuesday night. “This has nothing to do with Russian collusion.” Manafort’s conviction on the eight counts came in the same hour that Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty in New York to campaign finance violations and other charges. Manafort stood quietly while the verdict was being read by the clerk. It represented a stunning fall for Manafort, a well-known figure in Republican politics for decades. Related CoverageFollow the money: how Mueller's team made the Manafort caseFactbox: Under investigation or convicted - current and ex-Trump aides facing scrutiny Manafort’s lawyer, Kevin Downing, told reporters afterward that his client was disappointed in the verdict and was evaluating his options. “He is trying to soak it all in,” Downing told Reuters. Mueller’s office declined comment on the verdict. Prosecutors accused Manafort of hiding from U.S. tax authorities $16 million he earned as a political consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine to fund an opulent lifestyle and then lying to banks to secure $20 million in loans after his Ukrainian income dried up and he needed cash. The two bank fraud charges on which he was convicted each carry a potential prison term of up to 30 years. But several sentencing experts predicted Manafort, 69, would receive a prison term of about 10 years. Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, warned that any attempt by Trump to use his presidential powers to pardon Manafort or interfere in Mueller’s probe “would be a gross abuse of power and require immediate action by Congress.” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said in a statement: “There have yet to be any charges or convictions for colluding with the Russian government by any member of the Trump campaign in the 2016 election.” FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort departs from U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File PhotoMoscow has denied interfering in the 2016 election and Trump has said there was no collusion. David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Miami, said the guilty verdict on eight of 18 counts was “a significant victory” for Mueller and that “the mistrial on the remaining 10 counts is a shallow victory for the defense.” Manafort was convicted on all five charges of filing false tax returns. Prosecutors provided evidence he did not report $16 million in overseas income from 2010 to 2014 but used it to purchase clothes and real estate and renovate his homes. The jury found him guilty for failing to report his overseas bank holdings in just one of the four years cited. Manafort’s lawyers sought to portray the law as complex and raised questions about whether Manafort willfully broke it, a notion that may have given some jurors pause. They were hung on three other related counts. Manafort was found guilty on two counts of bank fraud, one involving a $3.4 million mortgage on a Manhattan condominium and a $1 million business loan. In both cases, the evidence showed Manafort provided false information in order to get the loans. The jury was hung on seven other bank fraud counts, however, including all five conspiracy charges, possibly because the jurors doubted the credibility of Rick Gates, Manafort’s former right-hand man, who pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution. One count on which the jury was hung was a $5.5 million loan that did not close. Ellis, who was hard on the prosecution throughout the trial, questioned in open court why the government was pursuing a charge on a loan that never materialized, a comment that drew criticism from legal experts and prompted an official complaint from Mueller’s team. Ellis gave the prosecution until Aug. 29 to decide whether to retry Manafort on the charges on which the jury deadlocked. As a result, the judge did not set a sentencing date for the charges on which Manafort was found guilty. Slideshow (6 Images)So far, no jurors have spoken to the media and their names were not made public so it is unclear how they determined their verdict. Manafort now faces a second trial on Sept. 17 in Washington in which he is charged with money laundering, failing to register as a lobbyist in the United States for his work for pro-Kremlin politicians in Ukraine, and obstruction of justice. The second trial promises to delve deeper into Manafort’s Russian connections, including his relationship with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Ukranian-Russian political consultant who was indicted along with Manafort and who Mueller says has ties to Russian intelligence. Reporting by Karen Freifeld, Nathan Layne and Ginger Gibson in Alexandria, Va.; Additional reporting by Pete Schroeder and Katanga Johnson in Alexandria and Jonathan Landay in Washington; Writing by Warren Strobel and Alistair Bell; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter CooneyOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Prosecutors claimed that Mr. Manafort initiated another scheme after Mr. Yanukovych was forced out of office in 2014.Defense lawyers acknowledged that Mr. Manafort had no income by the time the Trump campaign hired him in March 2016 as a volunteer, first to manage delegates to the Republican National Convention, then as campaign chairman. Still, he bought his annual season tickets to the New York Yankees, charging $210,600 to his American Express card that went unpaid for nearly a year.In order to persuade three banks to loan him a total of $20 million, prosecutors said, Mr. Manafort added millions of dollars in fake income to his financial statements. Defense lawyers contended that the banks were well aware of Mr. Manafort’s overall financial situation, and gave him loans because he had a net worth of $21.2 million and valuable real estate as collateral.Out of the jury’s earshot, Mr. Andres complained repeatedly to Judge Ellis that he was erecting unfair obstacles for the prosecution, interjecting when they tried to examine their witnesses on the stand. “The court interrupts every single one of the government’s directs, every single one,” he said.The judge had criticized independent counsels this year, apparently conflating them with special counsels like Mr. Mueller, who operates under the supervision of the Justice Department. By the midpoint of the trial, he was markedly more polite to the prosecutors. He agreed to apologize to the jury for wrongly accusing them of making a courtroom mistake with a key witness.Mr. Manafort’s lawyers said the prosecutors were engaging in overkill. “They had already thrown the kitchen sink at him,” one of them, Thomas Zehnle, told the judge at one point. “Now they are throwing the plumbing and the pipes.”Without directly accusing the prosecutors of selective prosecution, they tried throughout the trial to sow doubt about their intentions. At the government’s request, Judge Ellis instructed the jury to “ignore any argument about the Justice Department’s motive or lack of motive,” a last-minute warning that might only have underscored the question.

Paul Manafort's longtime deputy, Rick Gates, testifies in his federal trial on Monday in Virginia. Gates told jurors that he and Manafort had broken the law together. Bill Hennessy hide caption toggle caption Bill Hennessy Updated at 6:23 p.m. ETPaul Manafort's former business partner Rick Gates took the witness stand on Monday for the most highly anticipated — and likely crucial — testimony in Manafort's trial on bank and tax fraud charges.Gates worked as Manafort's right-hand man over the past decade, and prosecutors say he helped Manafort evade taxes and lie to banks to qualify for loans.Gates pleaded guilty earlier this year as part of an agreement to cooperate with federal prosecutors."Did you commit crimes with Mr. Manafort?" prosecutor Greg Andres asked soon after Gates took the stand and described his relationship with Manafort."Yes," Gates said.Manafort's former bookkeeper and tax accountants have testified that they dealt with Gates in preparing Manafort's financial paperwork. Prosecutors are looking to him for an insider's account of what they say was a scheme by Manafort to use offshore bank accounts, shell companies and wire transfers to avoid paying taxes on tens of millions of dollars of unreported income.Gates said he knowingly provided false and doctored documents to banks and also said that at "Manafort's request," the two men knowingly kept the fact that Manafort had foreign bank accounts from the IRS. Enlarge this image Gates previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements. He is cooperating with prosecutors. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Gates previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements. He is cooperating with prosecutors. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Defense strategyBut Manafort's legal team is expected to use Gates, too. In his opening statement last week, defense attorney Thomas Zehnle accused Gates of embezzling money from Manafort's consulting firm."Rick Gates had his hand in the cookie jar, and he couldn't take the risk that his boss might find out," Zehnle said.On the witness stand Monday, Gates confirmed that he stole from Manafort. He admitted to embezzling "hundreds of thousands" of dollars from Manafort's firm by filing fake expense reports.Juries are typically skeptical of witnesses who enter into agreements with prosecutors, said Sam Buell, a former federal prosecutor and a white-collar-law expert at Duke Law School, so he said he was not surprised by the defense's strategy of going after Gates. Law 4 Insights As Manafort Trial Enters Week 2 Gates has already admitted to lying to investigators once.Buell also said it's very difficult to find a strategy for defending against fraud charges in cases with an extensive paper trail. Manafort's has included a large amount of such evidence. Gates said Monday that he turned over "document, emails, computers, and phones" to prosecutors.When that's the case, "You've got to try to find a way to throw a monkey wrench in," Buell said. Law Manafort Accountant On Tax Scheme: 'I Regret It' Prosecutors have been preparing for this credibility battle by asking a number of witnesses to speak to Manafort's role as a supervisor over Gates.When asked who was in charge in the relationship, Manafort's longtime tax accountant Phillip Ayliff told the jury: "Oh, Mr. Manafort."Gates, in his testimony, said he first met Manafort at a Christmas party at Manafort's house when Gates was an intern in the 1990s. He added that Manafort was "probably one of the most politically brilliant strategists I've ever worked with."Throughout the testimony, Manafort was looking at Gates, but Gates kept his eyes on the jury, judge and the prosecutor questioning him.Gates is expected to take the stand again on Tuesday morning for more questioning from prosecutors, and the defense's cross-examination is expected to take up most of the afternoon.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge expressed skepticism on Wednesday toward a request by lawyers for President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort to suppress evidence seized by FBI agents working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The hearing before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson gave Manafort another opportunity to hinder the criminal case against him. Jackson last week refused to dismiss the charges, which include conspiring to launder money, conspiring to defraud the United States and failing to register as a foreign agent. Two indictments against Manafort, this one in Washington and another in Virginia, arose from Mueller’s ongoing investigation into potential collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, a probe that could threaten his presidency. He is the most senior member of Trump’s campaign to be indicted, though the charges do not relate to campaign activities. Trump has denied collusion with Russia and called Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt.” Manafort, trying to deprive prosecutors of what could be pivotal evidence in his Washington trial scheduled for September, is asserting that his rights against unreasonable searches and seizures under the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment were violated in the 2017 FBI raids. Manafort’s lawyers told the judge the FBI conducted an illegal warrantless search in May 2017 on a storage unit by getting one of Manafort’s low-level employees to unlock it and let an agent look inside. The agent later obtained a warrant to seize business records stored there. Defense lawyers said the employee was permitted only to go inside the unit “as directed by Manafort” in the course of his employment, and could not give lawful consent for the search. Jackson seemed highly dubious about that claim. “The lease says on its face he’s the occupant,” the judge said. “He’s named as the occupant and he has a key.” U.S. President Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort arrives for a motions hearing regarding evidence in his case at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri GripasOne of Manafort’s attorneys, Thomas Zehnle, told Jackson that “warrantless searches are disfavored” by courts. “Well, consensual searches are not disfavored,” Jackson replied. Jackson also expressed skepticism as Manafort’s lawyers tried to challenge the scope of warrants issued both for the storage locker and Manafort’s Virginia home. In the July 2017 search of the residence, Manafort’s lawyers contend the FBI improperly seized every single electronic and media device there, and has not returned copies of data unrelated to the case. “This is a really broad warrant,” defense lawyer Richard Westling said. “It allows me to go in the door and look at every piece of paper in the place and every piece of digital media.” Jackson noted that devices deemed irrelevant for the case have been returned, and the government also imaged the computers and created search terms to “cull out” materials covered in the case. “They made an effort to only look at what was covered,” she said. “Where are his constitutional rights violated?” Manafort performed lobbying work for a pro-Russian former Ukrainian president before serving as Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors also said they expect to call another Manafort attorney, Melissa Laurenza, to testify against him about false statements he allegedly asked her to file with the Justice Department related to his retroactively registering as a foreign agent for Ukraine. Slideshow (2 Images)Prosecutor Greg Andres said Laurenza is not considered a co-conspirator and was merely carrying out her client’s orders. Laurenza did not reply to an email seeking comment. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s star witness took the stand on Monday in the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, conceding to jurors that he aided his former boss in committing crimes. Interested in Russia Investigation? Add Russia Investigation as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Russia Investigation news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Russia Investigation Add Interest Rick Gates served as Manafort’s business partner for nearly a decade until 2016, when the two joined the Trump campaign for president. Asked by prosecutors on Monday whom he reported to during that time, Gates answered, “Paul Manafort.” Gates pleaded guilty in February to charges of conspiracy against the United States and lying to federal authorities. Having initially been charged alongside Manafort, Gates has since cooperated with the special counsel as part of their investigation into Russian meddling during the 2016 campaign, telling the court on Monday that he’s met with Mueller’s team “about twenty” times. He has not yet been sentenced. As part of his plea agreement, Gates confessed to “knowingly and intentionally” conspiring with Manafort to commit a bevy of bank and securities fraud, as well as act as an unregistered foreign agent in conjunction with Manafort’s work in Ukraine. During his testimony on Monday, Gates told jurors he and Manafort failed to report over a dozen offshore accounts to the government and admitted to shielding several million dollars over the years, all of which “at Mr. Manafort’s direction,” Gates said. Seated just twenty feet from Gates in the Alexandria, Virginia, courthouse, Manafort appeared focused on his former business partner as Gates walked jurors through the pair’s laundry list of crimes. Ahead of Manafort’s trial, Mueller’s prosecutors listed Gates as a potential witness, indicating that he was expected to play a central role in the prosecutor’s case against his former boss.MORE: Prosecutors in Manafort trial now say they have ‘every intention’ to call star witness Attorneys representing Manafort have built their defense argument around Gates, painting him as the true culprit behind their client’s alleged crimes and asserting that Manafort’s only mistake was “placing his trust in the wrong person,” referring to Gates. “Rick Gates had his hands in the cookie jar and he didn't want his boss to find out," defense attorney Thomas Zehnle told the court in opening statements last week, accusing Gates of being “willing to say anything to save himself.”MORE: Manafort trial opens with fiery charges from both sides Prosecutors surprised Judge T.S. Ellis last Wednesday when Uzo Asonye, a special counsel attorney, suggested that Gates “may not” take the stand. Another special counsel prosecutor, Greg Andres, later clarified that prosecutors had “every intention” of calling Gates to the stand.MORE: Witnesses describe Manafort's extravagant spending habits Manafort is on trial this week in a federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, facing charges of evading taxes on more than $60 million of income earned working for Ukrainian politicians. The alleged crimes occurred before Manafort’s time on the Trump campaign, and while the special counsel’s mandate is to investigate possible foreign interference in the 2016 elections, Mueller was given latitude to pursue other potential crimes that arose during the course of his investigation. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to all charges. ABC News' Katherine Faulders and Lucien Bruggeman contributed reporting