Witness list for trial of Trump's former campaign chief released

[rooster59]

Witness list for trial of Trump's former campaign chief released

 

FILE PHOTO: President Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort departs U.S. District Court after a motions hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday submitted a list of 35 potential witnesses for the trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort due to begin next week in Virginia, including bankers and accountants likely to testify regarding charges of bank and tax fraud.

 

The list, disclosed in a court filing, included Manafort's longtime business associate Richard Gates, who was indicted in October at the same time as Manafort, pleaded guilty in February and has been cooperating in Mueller's probe.

 

Also on the list was Tad Devine, a consultant who worked with Manafort in Ukraine and served as chief strategist for 2016 Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders. Devine's firm said in a statement he was serving as a fact witness and had been assured he did not have legal exposure.

 

Manafort has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of bank and tax fraud and failure to file reports of foreign bank accounts. The charges largely pre-date the five months when Manafort worked on Trump's campaign in 2016.

 

A large number of the witnesses are executives at banks that lent Manafort money, the accounting firm that did his taxes and others involved in financial dealings who could be asked to corroborate documentary evidence showing the alleged bank and tax fraud at the heart of the case.

 

"The case will be proven by paper and those people who have a transactional relationship to the paper," said Michael Zeldin, a former federal prosecutor. "All those people to say essentially that Manafort knew what he was doing."

 

The trial had been scheduled to start this past Wednesday in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, but U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III delayed it until next Tuesday and directed Mueller to provide a witness list to Manafort's lawyers.

 

The list also included people at businesses where Manafort spent money such as the director of ticket operations at the New York Yankees baseball team, the head of a landscaping firm and an executive at a Mercedes-Benz dealership.

 

Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor who is now a defence lawyer, said prosecutors likely want to show Manafort's "luxurious lifestyle," with the aim of making him less likeable to jurors.

 

Five of the witnesses, all financial professionals, were identified previously when they were granted immunity to testify.

 

None of the charges relate to possible coordination with Russian officials by Trump's campaign, an important element of Mueller's investigation into Moscow's interference in the election. Russia denies election interference. Trump denies collusion.

 

Manafort faces a second criminal trial in Washington in September on related charges, including witness tampering, in connection with lobbying work he performed for the pro-Russia Ukrainian government.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-28

[rudi49jr]

Lock him up! Lock him up! Or, when it comes to the whole depraved Trump clique: lock them up! Lock them up!

[Chomper Higgot]

He’s facing the very real possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.

 

But he may have has ace up his sleeve.

 

Cohen alleges Manafort was present when Trump was ‘allegidly’ informed of the ‘Trump Tower meeting’ who would be in that meeting and the purpose of that meeting.

 

All of Manafort’s legal challenges have failed.

 

Does he have that ace, and if so will he play it?

Edited July 28, 2018 by Chomper Higgot

[fvw53]

...and next in line is...

[zaphod reborn]

I wonder if Steve Calk will be indicted after the Manafort trial.  He approved a fraudulent $16 million loan (1/4 of the veteran's banks loanable assets) to Manafort in exchange for a promise that Trump would consider nominating him for Secretary of the Army.  The two loan officers involved in the application are tesifying under a grant of immunity.

[Tug]

Don’t worry Paul Donald will joining you soon maybe you can be cellies and talk about old times!!!

[Scott]

Troll post removed. 

 

[bendejo]

10 hours ago, zaphod reborn said:

I wonder if Steve Calk will be indicted after the Manafort trial.  He approved a fraudulent $16 million loan (1/4 of the veteran's banks loanable assets) to Manafort in exchange for a promise that Trump would consider nominating him for Secretary of the Army.  The two loan officers involved in the application are tesifying under a grant of immunity.

This is one of the funniest stories to come out of the DT presidential adventure.

For those unfamiliar with it look it up, great entertainment.  Would have liked to see him roll up to the Pentagon and tell the receptionist "I'm the new Secretary of the Army."  Would have to be on the level of going to Paris and telling all that he's Napolean.

 

I would think that Calk's trial would simply be about bank fraud, no DT involvement: he would be the fraudster, with Manafort as the 'devil in his ear.'  If the Feds handle it he just might be given a pardon.  If it's on the state level, welllllll......

 

 

[mtls2005]

17 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

He’s facing the very real possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.

 

Not sure what's keeping him from cooperating? He probably doesn't want to implicate DJTJ and Jared, which is probably who the gov't is looking for him to dime on?

 

Maybe he feels safer in jail/prison, where his Russian "partners" can't get to him? Although I would think they could easily have him whacked wherever.

 

Or does he expect a pardon? (Several States could also indict and try him.)

 

Or is he waiting to see the Government's case before flipping?

 

Or does he not have enough unique juicy details to trade for a light sentence?

 

He does face two trials, so maybe he'll wait to see how he fares in the first one?