Manafort trial nears start
Prosecutor says he ‘believed the law did not apply to him’
Jury selection begins for corruption, money laundering trial.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Paul Manafort’s trial began in earnest Tuesday with opening statements from prosecutors and defense attorneys, the first salvos in a case that could send President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman to prison for the rest of his life.
Manafort is the first person to face trial on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, and he’s pleaded not guilty to 18 charges of tax evasion, bank fraud and conspiracy at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., across the Potomac River from the nation’s capital.
The special counsel’s office has portrayed Manafort as relying on crime to fund his lifestyle of seven homes, fancy cars and a $15,000 custom jacket made from ostrich skin.
“A man in this courtroom believed the law did not apply to him,” said prosecutor Uzo Asonye. “Not tax law, not banking law.”
Before Manafort guided Trump’s campaign through the tumultuous Republican National Convention, he made $60 million working as a political consultant for Ukraine’s former president, Victor Yanukovych, according to the special counsel’s office.
For years, Asonye said, Manafort operated a network of more than 30 offshore accounts to evade taxes. But when Yanukovych was ousted in 2014, Asonye said, Manafort lost his “golden goose” and turned to bank fraud to boost his income, obtaining loans by submitting false
documents to financial institutions.
The prosecutor said the case would hinge not just on witnesses, but reams of documents collected during the investigation, including some of Manafort’s own emails allegedly directing underlings to facilitate his criminal scheme.
“You don’t have to take anybody’s word for it,” Asonye said. “You’ll see Manafort in his own words.”
Manafort’s team made clear that they would base their defense on undermining the credibility of Richard Gates, Manafort’s long-time former business partner, who worked with him in Ukraine and served as his deputy on Trump’s campaign. Gates pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents and conspiring with Manafort, and he agreed to help prosecutors.
The alleged crimes, defense attorney Thomas Zehnle suggested, were either fabricated or perpetrated by Gates, who he accused of embezzling money from the consulting firm the two men ran.
“Rick Gates had his hand in the cookie jar,” he said. The only thing Manafort is guilty of, Zehnle said, is “placing his trust in the wrong person.”
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, who is overseeing the case, quickly established that he would be a forceful presence during the trial, interrupting the opening statements from both the prosecution and defense and urging them to focus on the evidence they plan to present to the jury.
When Asonye dwelled on Manafort’s wealth, Ellis chided the prosecutor.
“It isn’t a crime to have a lot of money,” Ellis said.
Earlier in the day, Ellis seated a jury of six men and six women. There are also four alternates for the trial in case one of the original jurors isn’t able to complete his or her service.
The Eastern District of Virginia, where the trial is taking place, has a reputation for speedy proceedings, and Tuesday was no exception, with Ellis taking four hours to winnow the 60-member jury pool down to the final selections.
Before court opened, a small crowd of demonstrators gathered across the street from the federal courthouse in Alexandria. “Was the $18k karaoke machine worth it?” one protester’s sign read, referring to one of Manafort’s extravagant purchases.