Bookkeeper: Manafort OK’D bills
Foreign bank accounts not mentioned, she says
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Paul Manafort’s bookkeeper testified Thursday that the former Trump campaign chairman kept her in the dark about the foreign bank accounts he was using to buy millions in luxury items and personal expenses.
But he otherwise approved “every penny” of the personal bills she paid for him, said Heather Washkuhn of the accounting firm NKFSB.
Washkuhn’s testimony on the third day of the trial appeared to undercut an argument by Manafort’s attorneys that he can’t be responsible for financial fraud because he left the details of his spending to others, including his longtime associate Rick Gates. Washkuhn said Gates was involved only in Manafort’s business dealings, not his personal expenses.
When it came to personal expenses, Manafort “approved every penny of everything we paid,” Washkuhn told jurors.
Manafort faces charges of bank fraud and tax evasion that could put him in prison for the rest of his life. It’s the first courtroom test of the work of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Other witnesses testifying this week said Manafort paid them millions from the offshore accounts tied to foreign shell companies for landscaping, expensive clothing and even a karaoke machine.
On cross-examination, Manafort attorney Thomas Zehnle tried to get Washkuhn to say that Gates was heavily involved in approving expenses.
But Washkuhn said that while Gates dealt with some business matters for Manafort’s consulting firm, “mainly Mr. Manafort was the approval source.”
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III said the money is relevant, but he doesn’t see the need for prosecutors to “gild the lily,” especially considering Manafort’s lawyers have not disputed that their client spent his money on luxury items.