No verdict as jury ends first day in Manafort trial
ALEXANDRIA, United States: Jurors in the fraud trial of Donald Trump’s former campaign chief Paul Manafort wrapped up their first day of deliberations without reaching a verdict and posed a series of questions to the judge overseeing the case.
The six- man, six-woman jury weighing the 18 charges against the once high- f lying Republican political consultant met for around seven hours before calling it a day.They are to resume deliberations at 9.30am (1330 GMT) at the federal court building in Alexandria, Virginia.
Manafort, 69, is accused of providing fraudulent statements to secure bank loans and failing to pay taxes on tens of millions of dollars he earned while advising Russian- backed politicians in Ukraine between 2005 and 2014.
The case stems from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Manafort is not charged with any crimes related to his brief time as Trump’s campaign chief, but the trial is seen as an important test for the Mueller probe.
An acquittal would provide ammunition to the president and his allies to ramp up the pressure on Mueller to conclude his investigation into whether any members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
Trump has repeatedly denounced the Mueller probe as a political ‘ witch hunt’ and denied there was any collusion with Moscow to help him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Before recessing for the night, the jurors asked Judge TS Ellis to redefine ‘reasonable doubt.’
For conviction, the US judicial system requires a jury to find someone guilty ‘ beyond a reasonable doubt.’ The jury also asked the judge to explain the requirements for a US citizen to disclose the existence of foreign bank accounts.
Among the charges facing Manafort is an accusation that he failed to disclose his foreign bank accounts to the US tax authorities. The case went to the jury after 12 days of riveting testimony featuring hidden bank accounts, betrayal and lavish spending on homes, cars and clothes.
Prosecutors over the course of the trial outlined schemes allegedly used by Manafort to avoid paying taxes and hide bank accounts in Cyprus.
Defence attorneys sought for their part to cast doubt on the credibility of the prosecution’s star witness, Manafort’s former trusted deputy, Rick Gates, who took a deal from the government and turned against his former boss. — AFP