Manafort defense attorneys rip into star witness
ALEXANDRIA: Defense attorneys for Donald Trump’s former campaign chief Paul Manafort, on trial for tax and bank fraud, sought to shred the credibility of the prosecution’s key witness on Tuesday, forcing him to reveal that he had an extramarital affair and stole money from his boss. Rick Gates, Manafort’s longtime deputy, came in for a withering crossexamination as he took the stand in a packed federal courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia.
The 46-year-old, who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and is cooperating with the government, began the day by describing how he helped Manafort evade US taxes on millions of dollars earned from political consulting work they did in Ukraine. Under questioning by prosecutor Greg Andres, Gates walked the six-man, six-woman jury through the foreign bank accounts used by Manafort to receive payments from Ukrainian politicians — money that was not reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“He always had control over the accounts,” Gates said of Manafort, and the income was not reported to his bookkeepers, his accountants or the US tax authorities. When it was his turn to question Gates, defense attorney Kevin Downing went on the offensive, pressing him on what amount of time he would have expected to face in prison had he not agreed to cooperate with the government.
Gates conceded it was “in excess of 50 to 100 years,” but said any eventual sentence — including avoiding jail by receiving probation — would be up to a judge. Downing forced Gates to admit he had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort by filing bogus personal expenses claims and that he had engaged in an extramarital affair and kept an apartment in London for that purpose. “Were these payments for your secret life?” Downing asked. “I acknowledge I had a period of time when I had another relationship,” said Gates, who is married and has four children. “I already admitted on the record that I took unauthorized funds from Mr Manafort.”
Manafort, seated at the defense table, stared intently at Gates while his defense attorney hammered him with aggressive questions, but his former business partner carefully avoided his gaze.
“After all the lies you’ve told, and the fraud you’ve committed, you expect the jury will believe you?” Downing asked Gates. “I’m here to tell the truth,” Gates replied. “Mr Manafort had the same path. “I’m here. I’m trying to change,” he said. Gates appeared to be referring to his decision to enter into a plea agreement with the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller in exchange for his trial testimony. — AFP