Manafort jury to begin fourth day of deliberations

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal court jury will resume its deliberations today in the financial fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

The 12 jurors, six men and six women, extended their deliberations until early evening Monday as they continued to mull over the 18 criminal counts with Manafort’s future hanging in the balance. The jury’s request to go longer raised speculation a verdict might be near.

The panel

9:30 a.m..

During the day, Manafort shuffled in and out of the courtroom in a black pinstriped suit for several private bench meetings his lawyers had with prosecutors and U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III. He folded his hands in his lap, fiddling with his thumbs as the gallery of reporters will resume its work at looked on.

Over the hours, reporters read books and newspapers. One woman folded dollar bills into origami.

Despite gray clouds hovering over the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse, a row of television cameras remained at the ready all day, pointed at the entrance.

Earlier Monday, Ellis told prosecutors and defense attorneys that the jurors’ identities would be among a few pieces of information that would not be disclosed when the trial concludes.

Last week, Ellis voiced concerns for the panel’s safety after indicating he had been the target of threats. He did not elaborate on the nature of the threats, but the judge acknowledged he was being protected by U.S. marshals.

Ellis reaffirmed Monday that he would be releasing transcripts of bench conferences involving prosecutors and defense attorneys when the case was finished, with the exception of the jurors’ names and a conference that touched on Russia special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into election interference.

Twice Monday morning, Ellis met with prosecutors and Manafort’s attorneys for secretive bench meetings. The courtroom filled with static as lawyers huddled around Ellis to talk.

The judge asked the government and Manafort’s attorneys Monday to begin reviewing the conference transcripts so he could prepare them for release after the verdict.

Though the charges against Manafort are not related to Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, the trial is an important initial test for Mueller.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of the Mueller investigation.

On Friday, he praised Manafort and said that what Mueller’s team was doing to his former campaign chairman was “very sad.”

The comments drew criticism that the president was trying to sway the jury’s decision as it was deliberating Manafort’s fate.

Trump continued his attacks Monday, calling Mueller “disgraced and discredited” in a series of posts on Twitter, then defended his comments as fighting back against what he called a “witch hunt.”

“Where’s the Collusion? They made up a phony crime called Collusion, and when there was no Collusion they say there was Obstruction (of a phony crime that never existed),” Trump wrote. “If you FIGHT BACK or say anything bad about the Rigged Witch Hunt, they scream Obstruction!”

During the trial, prosecutors sought to cast Manafort as a serial “liar” in a yearslong scheme to hide millions of dollars in 31 foreign bank accounts and obtain millions more in a series of fraudulent bank loans.

Manafort’s attorneys have accused prosecutors of engaging in “selective” prosecution.