U.S. judge apologizes to prosecutors in former Trump aide Manafort's trial

[webfact]

U.S. judge apologizes to prosecutors in former Trump aide Manafort's trial

By Karen Freifeld, Sarah N. Lynch and Nathan Layne

 

Television cameras are positioned outside the U.S. District Courthouse where former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is being tried on charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., August 7, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - The federal judge in the trial of U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort expressed contrition on Thursday to jurors after berating prosecutors for allowing a witness to watch the proceedings, despite having given his earlier approval.

 

The rare apology by U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis surprised observers in his Alexandria, Virginia courtroom, who have watched the judge repeatedly criticize the government's handling of the case while giving leeway to Manafort's lawyers.

 

"It appears I may well have been wrong," Ellis said as the trial went into its eighth day. "But like any human, and this robe doesn't make me anything other than human, I sometimes make mistakes."

 

Ellis had chastised prosecutors for allowing IRS agent Michael Welch to be in court before he testified on Wednesday, saying he did not like witnesses present before taking the stand. When prosecutor Uzo Asonye challenged Ellis, the judge barked: "Don't do that again. When I exclude witnesses, I mean everybody."

 

Prosecutors had told Ellis he had approved having Welch and other expert witnesses attend the proceedings, a point they repeated in a court filing on Thursday asking for a "curative instruction" to the jury to set the record straight.

 

Some lawyers watching the case also noted Ellis did not rebuke defense attorney Kevin Downing on Wednesday after he asked the government’s star witness Rick Gates whether he had told prosecutors about four extramarital affairs.

 

Downing had agreed in a bench conference on Tuesday not to raise the subject with Gates, a court transcript showed. Downing later argued it was fair game because Gates had volunteered that he had one affair after being asked about his "secret life."

 

Ellis sustained an objection from the prosecution and Gates never answered the question about four affairs, but some observers said the damage had already been done.

 

"It was highly inappropriate to raise the other affairs, and the judge's response was very generous," said Gene Rossi, a former prosecutor who has been watching the trial. "In my experience, another judge would have cut his head off."

 

Gates, who was indicted along with Manafort, pleaded guilty and is cooperating with an investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

 

BANK FRAUD

Manafort has pleaded not guilty to 18 felony charges of bank fraud, tax fraud and failing to disclose some 30 foreign bank accounts. He is the first person to be tried on charges brought by Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

 

Prosecutors said they plan to conclude their case on Friday. It is not clear whether Manafort will call any witnesses in his defense.

 

After wrapping up the tax portion of their case, prosecutors have moved on to bankers who were involved in extending Manafort loans during his scramble to generate cash in 2015 and 2016 after work dried up following a loss of business in Ukraine.

 

Melinda James, a mortgage assistant at Citizens Bank, testified Thursday that Manafort provided incorrect information in applying for a $3.4 million loan on a Manhattan condominium that was granted on March 4, 2016.

 

She said Manafort did not disclose that a brownstone he owned in Brooklyn had a mortgage against it and indicated the Manhattan condominium was a second residence, when it was listed for rent. Both moves improved the loan terms, James said.

 

Earlier this week Gates testified Manafort directed him to present banks with false documents, including an inflated profit report for Manafort's consulting company, DMP International, LLC, to get the loans. Defense lawyers have made blaming Gates, Manafort's right-hand man for a decade, a key plank of their defense.

 

Manafort lawyer Jay Nanavati appeared to make some progress toward that goal on Thursday. Under his cross-examination, James acknowledged it was Gates, using an old insurance document, who ultimately misled her about whether there was a mortgage on the brownstone days before the loan on the condominium closed.

 

Taryn Rodriguez, a loan officer assistant at Citizens Bank, testified about an application for a $5.5 million construction loan on the brownstone that was ultimately denied.

 

She said Manafort failed to disclose a multi-million dollar mortgage already taken out on the property and a $1 million business loan from the Banc of California, both of which would have affected any new loan. Rodriguez said she discovered the mortgage by researching a New York City database of property records.

 

Gary Seferian, a senior vice president at the Banc of California, said his bank gave Manafort the $1 million loan to rehabilitate and flip properties in the Los Angeles area, in part based on a financial statement for DMP International showing a profit of more than $4 million for 2015.

 

Prosecutor Uzo Asonye asked if Manafort would have qualified for the loan if he had known DMP's profit for that year was in fact $400,000. "I don’t think so," Seferian said.

 

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Warren Strobel, Karen Freifeld, and Nathan Layne; Editing by Anthony Lin, Grant McCool and Chris Reese)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-08-10

[bushdoctor]

Hmm....is there anything here at all pointing  to Russian collusion?  

[mtls2005]

2 hours ago, bushdoctor said:

Hmm....is there anything here at all pointing  to Russian collusion?  

 

No, well maybe a teeny bit of Russian taint around the edges.

 

Taking a job with no salary, when in dire financial straits, might be a clue.

 

This trial is about Manafort's many financial crimes: 

 

False income tax returns (5 counts)

Failure to report foreign bank or financial assets (four counts)

Bank fraud (four counts)

Bank fraud conspiracy (five counts)

 

He has another trial coming next month on different charges. And not when he'll be charged for witness tampering.

 

And then one assumes he'll be indicted in the future along with Jared, DJTJ, Stoney, et al for conspiring with the Russians.

 

I know it's hard to keep up with all the Trump gang of criminals, let alone all of Manafort's charges, indictments and trials.

 

Stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

[pegman]

3 hours ago, bushdoctor said:

Hmm....is there anything here at all pointing  to Russian collusion?  

About as much as the blue dress and the cigar tube had to do with WhiteWater.

Saying the "American  judiciary" is an independent branch of government is an oxymoron. 

[Redline]

5 hours ago, bushdoctor said:

Hmm....is there anything here at all pointing  to Russian collusion?  

This case is not about Russian collusion.  It’s about Trump’s buddy and campaign manager getting what he deserves.  He broke multiple laws, including tax evasion.

I suppose you think that’s ok, but all special councils have had the same mandate, and the investigations last from 3-4 years.

Anyway, this was s the first trail pertaining to the investigation.

Prosecuters move from the outside inward, in case you don’t read, like the man with the small...

Edited August 10, 2018 by Redline

[PAWNEESE]

I suspect what is going to happen.  The defence will ask Manafort to try on the Ostrich jacket. It will be tooooo small .. proving his innocence. Not Guilty verdict .

[connda]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Ellis had chastised prosecutors for allowing IRS agent Michael Welch to be in court before he testified on Wednesday, saying he did not like witnesses present before taking the stand.

That action will be the cause necessary to obtain an appeal to any negative verdict.  Not the smartest thing for a judge to do.  Witnesses are normally reclused until after they testify unless both the defense and prosecution agree to allow that person to be present.

[mtls2005]

2 hours ago, PAWNEESE said:

I suspect what is going to happen.  The defence will ask Manafort to try on the Ostrich jacket. It will be tooooo small .. proving his innocence. Not Guilty verdict .

 

Been there, done that.

 

If the ostrich jacket fits you must convict.

 

If the python jacket does not fit, you must acquit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2018 by mtls2005

[Tug]

The judge comments I personally feel were out of line the case Is not directly connected to the trumps corruption but it is in line with the way they operate that is why you see trump freaking out

[bushdoctor]

The collusion accusation has fallen apart. 

[stevenl]

38 minutes ago, bushdoctor said:

The collusion accusation has fallen apart. 

Strange comment considering sr has recently admitted he knew of the meeting between jr and Russians with the aim of gathering dirt on an opponent.

Sr's defense has changed from 'I know nothing' to 'it is perfectly legal' and 'everyone does it'.

So he himself has admitted, but you claim it hasn't happened. ROFL.

[Trouble]

34 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Strange comment considering sr has recently admitted he knew of the meeting between jr and Russians with the aim of gathering dirt on an opponent.

Sr's defense has changed from 'I know nothing' to 'it is perfectly legal' and 'everyone does it'.

So he himself has admitted, but you claim it hasn't happened. ROFL.

Trump said same thing over a year ago.  The recent news about the meeting is regurgitated news. There is no violation of the law to meet with anyone at anytime.  There is no crime of collusion in the instance in which people are trying to use it in this case. But it feeds the media frenzy.  

 

With regard to Manafort, he got involved back in the 1980's with politics, lobbying, etc. Somewhere along the line he surely got greedy and branched out into the Ukranian market.  He went astray trying to hide money.  Probably all the charges against him are true with regard to tax fraud, money laundering, etc.  I don't think he should be more harshly judged or less harshly judged because of his connection with Trump.  His current legal problems are of his own making and occurred in the past before Trump came on the scene.  If anything Manafort is probably in bigger trouble because he got on board the Trump campaign.  Chances are he would not be in this spot were it not for the Mueller investigation. Manafort should be properly punished if he violated the law. But trying to tie Manafort to any part of the Russia angle is probably futile.  Manafort was looking for access and probably joined the Trump campaign for his own interests. He wasn't in the campaign long. This trial is getting much more media coverage because many are hoping he will squeal on Trump, something unlikely to happen.

[mtls2005]

9 hours ago, bushdoctor said:

The collusion accusation has fallen apart. 

 

Which "collusion argument" are you referring to?

 

 

8 hours ago, Trouble said:

There is no violation of the law to meet with anyone at anytime.

 

Depends on what you're doing, right. Certainly, it is not legal to meet "anyone" and rob a bank.

 

8 hours ago, Trouble said:

I don't think he should be more harshly judged or less harshly judged because of his connection with Trump.

 

Who's asking that he be judged more or less harshly? Anyone who understands the rule of law would simply want Manafort to be judged FAIRLY.

[stevenl]

9 hours ago, Trouble said:

Trump said same thing over a year ago.  The recent news about the meeting is regurgitated news. There is no violation of the law to meet with anyone at anytime.  There is no crime of collusion in the instance in which people are trying to use it in this case. But it feeds the media frenzy.  

 

With regard to Manafort, he got involved back in the 1980's with politics, lobbying, etc. Somewhere along the line he surely got greedy and branched out into the Ukranian market.  He went astray trying to hide money.  Probably all the charges against him are true with regard to tax fraud, money laundering, etc.  I don't think he should be more harshly judged or less harshly judged because of his connection with Trump.  His current legal problems are of his own making and occurred in the past before Trump came on the scene.  If anything Manafort is probably in bigger trouble because he got on board the Trump campaign.  Chances are he would not be in this spot were it not for the Mueller investigation. Manafort should be properly punished if he violated the law. But trying to tie Manafort to any part of the Russia angle is probably futile.  Manafort was looking for access and probably joined the Trump campaign for his own interests. He wasn't in the campaign long. This trial is getting much more media coverage because many are hoping he will squeal on Trump, something unlikely to happen.

No, a year ago the meeting had a different subject, now he has admitted it was about gathering dirt from Russia about Clinton.

Whether or not that was a violation of the law remains to be seen.

 

Regarding manafort, yes, partly it was before the election, but don't forget his ties to Russia and Ukraine.

Plus this and others say a lot about the vetting process and quality of the Trump team, and not in a positive way.

Edited August 11, 2018 by stevenl

[Credo]

Well this does have an impact on the campaign:

 

Rick Gates: Paul Manafort tried to get Secretary of the Army job for Chicago banker Stephen Calk, who loaned him millions

Tuesday afternoon, Rick Gates testified that his then-business partner Manafort requested him to use his position in the Trump campaign to offer a series of favors to Stephen Calk, the founder and CEO of Federal Savings Bank, one of the banks that extended Manafort sizeable loans in 2016. Calk had been on Trump's small panel of economic advisors in the summer of 2016 when Manafort was campaign chairman.

In court on Tuesday assistant U.S. attorney Greg Andres handed Gates e-mails from Manafort, showing that Gates's former boss requested that he use his position in the Trump campaign to offer special favors to the founder and CEO of Chicago's Federal Savings Bank.

 

https://abc7chicago.com/politics/gates-manafort-tried-to-get-sec-of-army-job-for-chicago-banker-stephen-calk-who-loaned-him-millions-/3901987/

[mtls2005]

5 minutes ago, Credo said:

Well this does have an impact on the campaign:

 

Yes, the swamp ooze is hard to control. Once you get it on your hands and shoes it ends up everywhere.

 

I'm sure Manafort was not the only tRUmp-er selling influence.