Thread: Paul Manafort, Rick Gates indicted by federal grand jury in Russia probe

Paul Manafort visited Moscow 18 times, Kiev 19 times

Flynn's lawyers no longer sharing information with Trump's legal team

Mueller releases list of 35 potential witnesses for Manafort trial

LIVE UPDATES

Rick Gates will testify next in the Manafort trial

4 hr 25 min ago

It's Day 5 of the Manafort trial. Catch up on what happened last week.




Testimony in the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort kicks back up at 1 p.m. ET today.

Here's what you need to know about the first four days of the trial:

• The prosecution's opening statement: Prosecutors on Tuesday accused Manafort of being a "shrewd" liar who orchestrated a global scheme to avoid paying taxes on millions of dollars.
• A life of luxury: Prosecutors are painting a picture detailing Manafort's extravagant purchases. A landscaper testified that Manafort spent about $450,000 on landscaping over five years, and said Manafort had "one of the biggest ponds in the Hamptons." Prosecutors have also detailed expensive jackets that belong to Manafort.
• The defense's strategy: Manafort's lawyer made clear the plan is to point the finger at Manafort's longtime deputy Rick Gates, who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and lying to federal investigators in February.

LIVE UPDATES

1 min ago

Rick Gates called to the stand in Manafort trial

From CNN's Liz Landers




The government has now called Rick Gates to the stand. He is in the courtroom.

Why this matters: Gates, who served as Manafort's right-hand man in their multimillion-dollar political consulting business and was also a deputy campaign manager for Trump, agreed to a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller to give evidence against his former boss in return for a potentially reduced sentence.

This will represent the biggest test yet for Mueller's investigation -- even though this case does not directly play into the issue of alleged cooperation by the Trump campaign in Russian election meddling.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-ne...ial/index.html

5 min ago

Court wraps for the day. Here's what happened on Day 5.



Sketches by Bill Hennessy

The fifth day of Paul Manafort's trial has ended, but is scheduled to pick back up tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Here's what you need to know from today in court:

• Witnesses: Manafort's former accountant Cindy Laporta, senior special agent with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Paula Liss, and Manafort's former business partner Rick Gates.
• What Rick Gates said: Gates told the court about his admission that he committed crimes alongside Manafort, to which he pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the federal investigators. During his Monday testimony, Rick Gates clearly stated he and Manafort had 15 foreign accounts they did not report to the federal government, and knew it was illegal.
• Gates also told the jury that as part of his plea with the government, he revealed several other crimes that were not previously known and are not in the federal indictments of him and Manafort.

Read more.

29 min ago

Manafort trial adjourns for day; Gates to return to stand tomorrow

From CNN's Katelyn Polantz
Rick Gates' testimony stopped at 5:34 p.m. ET, when Judge T.S. Ellis excused the jury for the day. Court will resume tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Gates, carrying a copy of a Dan Brown novel, exited the courtroom with his attorney.

He did not speak to anyone on his elevator ride down.

1 hr 6 min ago

Gates testifies he helped Manafort file false tax returns

From CNN's Kara Scannell
Gates told the jury he helped Manafort file false tax returns by lying to his boss’ accountants about under-reporting income, creating false loans, and not disclosing Manafort’s ownership of the foreign accounts.

In each of those instances Gates told the jury he lied "at the direction of Mr Manafort."

Prosecutor Greg Andres began walking Gates through his plea agreement with Gates explaining his legal trouble increased after he lied to prosecutors during the investigation.

1 hr 7 min ago

Gates says he cheated Manafort out of several hundred thousand dollars

From CNN's Katelyn Polantz

Rick Gates said he had been cheating Paul Manafort out of money to the tune of "several hundred thousand" dollars.
Gates told the jury that as part of his plea with the government, he revealed several other crimes that were not previously known and are not in the federal indictments of him and Manafort.

Gates said he stole the money from Manafort by submitting to him false expense reports.

Those expenses paid to him came out of the foreign bank accounts in Cyprus that Gates said he and Manafort knowingly did not disclose to the federal government.

Gates said he also created a fake letter to an investment company for a different colleague, Steve Brown. He also overreported his income on mortgage and credit card applications and lied to his own personal tax accountant.

Furthermore, Gates said he lied in a lawsuit deposition years ago, after Manafort "asked me not to include" certain things in the deposition.

Gates said on the witness stand that the government has agreed not to oppose his attorney when he asks for probation for his crimes. A sentencing date has not yet been set in DC federal court.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-ne...ial/index.html

Originally Posted by artist

Saw an interview with rod rosenstein a few months ago and he stated mueller would not be allowed to probe into anything beyond a connection between trump and russian influencing of the election. And he assured he would be in control to not allow that. And he seemed to be lying and sure enough he was. When Jeff Sessions took over AG office, he ordered rosenstein fired along with several other obamaites and Trump said no. rosenstein appointed meuller.

Wow, are you serious? I did not know that. Must not have received much media attention.

Jeff Sessions told White House he might quit if Rod Rosenstein is fired, reports say

William Cummings, USA TODAY Published 9:31 p.m. ET April 20, 2018 | Updated 4:44 p.m. ET April 21, 2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions told the White House last weekend that if President Donald Trump fires Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Sessions himself may quit. USA TODAY


Attorney General Jeff Sessions told the White House he might resign if President Trump fires the deputy attorney general overseeing the investigation into Russian election meddling, according to The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, each citing unnamed sources.

Sessions told White House counsel Donald McGahn in a phone call last weekend that he would consider quitting if Trump fired Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Post reported. At the time, Sessions was concerned Trump was close to dismissing Rosenstein because the president was furious about the FBI raid on the office of his personal attorney, Michael Cohen.

According to media reports, Trump discussed the possibility of firing Rosenstein with senior administration officials because Rosenstein approved the April 9 raids.

Sessions did not mean to raise the possibility of his resignation as a threat, but "rather wanted to convey the untenable position that Rosenstein’s firing would put him in," a source told the Post.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks about the opioid crisis during an appearance in Raleigh, N.C., April 17, 2018. (Photo: Gerry Broome, AP)


Trump has sharply criticized his attorney general over Sessions' decision in March 2017 to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. Rosenstein then took over the investigation and appointed special counsel Robert Mueller.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...red/538350002/

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen under investigation for tax fraud