Manafort judge is colorful but ‘in total control’
He duels with lawyers, jokes with jurors
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – T.S. Ellis III had something to say about the prosecution strategy of former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort – and he was not about to hold back.
“You don’t really care about Mr. Manafort’s bank fraud,” Ellis said, referring to the barrage of criminal charges leveled against the former Republican political operative. “What you really care about is what information Mr. Manafort could give you that would reflect on Mr. Trump or lead to his prosecution or impeachment. … The vernacular is to ‘sing.’ ”
No one would have blinked had the remarks come from Manafort’s defense attorneys. But the otherwise uneventful pretrial hearing in May made headlines because the biting commentary came from the presiding judge.
Since his appointment to manage the first criminal trial in the 14-month tenure of special counsel Robert Mueller, the 78-year-old former Navy aviator already has left his mark on a case that seated jurors Tuesday.
During Tuesday’s jury selection, Ellis engaged in lighthearted exchanges with some of the prospective panelists, including one woman who volunteered a quick answer before Ellis could complete his questioning.
“I know I’m predictable,” he said. “My
“You don’t really care about Mr. Manafort’s bank fraud. What you really care about is what information Mr. Manafort could give you that would reflect on Mr. Trump or lead to his prosecution or impeachment … The vernacular is to ‘sing.’ ”
Judge T.S. Ellis III to prosecutors
wife says that’s one of my only virtues.”
In court, he appears to relish sparring with attorneys, an equal-opportunity taskmaster who has moved the case forward at a pace in keeping with the court’s reputation for its “rocket docket.”
His written rulings are often as sharp as the courtroom commentary. Last month, when he ordered Manafort moved to the Alexandria Detention Center, he quickly – and colorfully – dispensed with defense attorneys’ arguments that such a move could pose undisclosed safety concerns.
“Defense counsel has not identified any general or specific threat to defendant’s safety,” Ellis wrote after prosecutors revealed that Manafort had been afforded “unique” privileges at another Virginia lockup. “They have not done so, because the professionals at the Alexandria Detention Center are very familiar with housing high-profile defendants, including foreign and domestic terrorists, spies and traitors.”
Ellis, nominated in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan, has also had his share of high-profile defendants in his more than three decades on the bench.
In 2009, Ellis presided over the trial of former Louisiana Democratic Rep. William Jefferson, who was convicted of corruption-related charges and sentenced to 13 years in prison. In the investigation, investigators famously found $90,000 in cash stashed in his freezer.
Jefferson was released last year when Ellis vacated all but three of the 10 criminal counts after a Supreme Court decision redefined officials’ exposure to allegations of political corruption. Ellis said the decision should not be interpreted as a vindication of Jefferson. Rather, he described the former congressman’s actions as “plainly venal.”
In 2002, Ellis sentenced John Walker Lindh to 20 years in prison for aiding the Taliban during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Lindh, a U.S. citizen who became known as the “American Taliban,” took part in a violent uprising by Taliban prisoners that resulted in the death of a CIA officer.
Paul McNulty, then the chief federal prosecutor in Alexandria, said Ellis made an impression after a high-powered defense team called for the dismissal of the case. McNulty recalled Ellis holding forth at length in a ruling for the government in which he barely re- ferred to written notes.
“There was a lot on the line; he did it all from the top of his head,” McNulty said. “I was just stunned.”
Soon after the decision to uphold the government’s case, Lindh agreed to a deal with federal prosecutors that included the 20-year prison sentence.
It has been nearly 20 years, but Lindh’s attorney, James Brosnahan, says Ellis’ distinctive management style remains a vivid memory. “He makes it very clear that he is in total control of the room,” Brosnahan said.
The attorney recalled a short-lived “tiff ” during the emotionally charged case when the judge discussed using a curtain to shield the identities of witnesses in the courtroom.
“I had never seen anything like that in an American courtroom, and I told him so,” Brosnahan said, recalling the widespread public anxiety in the wake of 9/11. A public trial was averted when a plea agreement was reached.
Attorney Abbe Lowell, who has worked cases in Ellis’ court, said the jurist is demanding of all sides.
“Judge Ellis expects a lot from the lawyers who appear before him, because he exacts that same preparedness and hard work from himself,” he said. “He cares about getting issues right, and he gives attorneys the ability to present their cases in front of him so he can do that.”