Day Two: The Judge In Paul Manafort's Case Is Pissed At Prosecutors For Focusing Too Much On His "Luxury" Lifestyle https://t.co/1I4l2N46A6 pic.twitter.com/L5utMRVh8A
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) August 1, 2018
… Prosecutors have countered that the evidence about Manafort’s lifestyle is relevant because it goes toward showing how much income he was bringing in during the years in question — income that Manafort is charged with underreporting in his income tax returns.
Manafort is facing 18 counts in Virginia, including filing false income tax returns, failing to report foreign bank accounts, and bank fraud. He is separately facing charges in the US District Court for the District of Columbia; that trial is scheduled to start in September.
On Wednesday morning, the jury heard from Daniel Rabin, a political media consultant who testified that he worked with Manafort in Ukraine to produce dozens of television ads. Before Rabin took the stand, Ellis questioned how much evidence prosecutors needed to put into the record to establish that Manafort did, in fact, do a lot of work in Ukraine — that wasn’t contested, the judge said. Ellis on Tuesday also questioned the amount of evidence prosecutors were asking to put before the jury detailing the extent of Manafort’s work in Ukraine.
The jury heard from FBI Special Agent Matthew Mikuska, who was involved in the search of Manafort’s condo in Alexandria. The judge appeared agitated as Assistant US Attorney Uzo Asonye asked Mikuska to read the contents of documents that agents seized, saying the agent didn’t know anything about the substance of the documents, only that they were found in Manafort’s home.
Mikuska described Manafort’s property as a “luxury” unit, estimating it was about 2,000 square feet. Asonye highlighted a series of documents agents seized from the condo, including financial statements with the names of accounts in Cyprus that prosecutors claim Manafort controlled and failed to report to US authorities, and invoices for home renovations at properties Manafort owned in New York and Florida.
As Asonye had Mikuska describe documents that referred to Manafort’s longtime associate Rick Gates, Ellis questioned why that was necessary, since Gates was expected to testify. (Gates was originally charged with Manafort last fall, but later pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s office.) Asonye said there was a chance Gates wouldn’t testify, prompting a stir in the courtroom — much of Manafort’s defense is about blaming Gates for any financial issues, per the opening statement Tuesday from Manafort’s team.
Asonye clarified that as evidence came in, the government was evaluating all of its witnesses, not just Gates…
Protip: don’t roll your eyes. An unctuous shit-eating grin is the safest way to mock a judge.
“why yes, certainly, Your Honor.”https://t.co/OIiPJ5q2Hn
— QHatSecretMessages (@Popehat) August 1, 2018
I agree that that's inappropriate behavior, but I also think it's freakin' hilarious that Manafort's own lawyers are among those doing it. That's gotta make him feel better as he sits in his jail cell.
— SpideyTerry (@SpideyTerry) August 1, 2018
Good profile of Judge Ellis, now presiding over the Manafort trial. I had some hearings before Ellis way back when I was a Special AUSA, and he was tough on lawyers but also super sharp. https://t.co/ND18Y9WTXb
— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) August 1, 2018
C.R.E.A.M. Open Thread: Manafort Trial, Day TwoPost + Comments (28)