Fraud trial set to begin for Trump’s campaign chief
WASHINGTON — With his well-coiffed hair, tailored suits and keen ability to charm the powerful, Paul Manafort spent decades wheeling and dealing with U.S. politicians and foreign despots before he became Donald Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016 and ran the Republican National Convention.
As a Republican political strategist, he had helped run successful campaigns for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. As a lobbyist and consultant, he had pocketed tens of millions of dollars working for autocratic leaders, warlords and kleptocrats in such far-flung locales as Angola, Zaire, the Philippines and Ukraine.
Manafort, 69, is about to face his toughest challenge yet: winning over a federal judge and jury in Alexandria, Va. He’s scheduled to go on trial Tuesday on allegations of bank fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy in the first courtroom showdown over charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Although Manafort was ensnared by the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, he wasn’t accused of election-related crimes. But prosecutors say his scheme extended through his time working for Trump — and according to a motion filed on July 6, the campaign “is relevant and inextricably intertwined” with one of the charges against Manafort.
Prosecutors say Manafort fraudulently obtained $16 million in two loans from a financial institution at which an executive sought a role in the Trump campaign and, if he won, the administration. The executive, who was not named in the court filing, served as a campaign adviser but did not end up working in government. The bank was not named.
Those hoping the case will finally reveal — or permanently dispel — a broader and more insidious conspiracy are likely to be disappointed. In the same court filing, prosecutors said, “The government does not intend to present at trial evidence or argument concerning collusion with the Russian government.”
Manafort has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has fought every step of the way. Even if he’s acquitted, however, he faces a second trial in September on related charges, including failing to register as a lobbyist for a foreign government.
Manafort joined the Trump campaign in March 2016, a crucial juncture in the race. That May, he was named campaign chairman and chief strategist.