Ex-Trump campaign head Manafort guilty on eight counts

US President Donald Trump has been dealt a double blow after developments in two separate cases involving his former close associates.

Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, was found guilty on Tuesday of eight financial crimes in the first trial victory of the special counsel investigation into the president’s associates. The verdict came as the president’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, separately pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and other charges, saying he made payments to influence the 2016 election at the direction of a candidate for federal office.

In Manafort’s case, the jury found Manafort guilty on eight counts, including tax fraud, bank fraud and failure to declare foreign bank accounts. The federal judge declared a mistrial on 10 other counts the jury could not agree on after deliberating for four days.