Manafort Trial Thread

#226
#226
"Prosecutors plan to call Paul Manafort's former deputy Rick Gates to testify, prosecutor Greg Andres said Thursday morning in court without the jury in the room.
This comes a day after prosecutors opened the door to the possibility that Gates might not testify.

Why this matters: Gates is perceived by the defense and court-watchers as the star witness for the prosecution, after he agreed to cooperate in February.
Andres added that prosecutors could prove Manafort's guilt whether or not Gates testifies.
Gates is expected to take the stand as early as Friday or Monday."
 
#227
#227
The federal judge in the trial of ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort told Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team on Thursday they cannot prove a key part of their case unless prosecutors call Manafort’s former business partner to the stand.

U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III issued the warning after prosecutors suggested Wednesday that Rick Gates – who is cooperating with prosecutors and had been considered a potential star witness – might not be called to the stand after all.

Referencing Gates, Ellis told prosecutors in court they “can’t prove conspiracy without him.”

“Not necessarily,” Mueller prosecutor Greg Andres responded, before saying they still have “every intention” to call Gates to the stand.
 
#228
#228
"Paul Manafort's business and personal estate bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn denied ever knowing about the companies Manafort used to wire money for his extravagant personal purchases.
Prosecutor Greg Andres asked Washkuhn if she had ever heard of 14 different shell-company bank accounts.
She said "no" to every one.
Washkuhn said she handled all of Manafort's personal and professional financial dealings from 2011 to 2018, and said she never recorded the existence of any foreign bank accounts for Manafort while she kept his books.
She also said it was important for her to keep track of all of his bank accounts and bills so she could help him properly pay his taxes each year.
Why this matters: Prosecutors are using Washkuhn's testimony to underline Manafort's alleged criminal use of unreported foreign bank accounts. They say she will also be able to speak to Manafort's criminal bank fraud charges.
"He approved every penny of everything we paid," Washkuhn testified. Washkuhn "wanted to provide a complete picture to the tax preparers."​
Washkuhn also said she hadn't known if Manafort had accounts in Cyprus, St. Vincent, Grenadines and Ukraine — Many of the personal items Manafort bought were paid for through international wire transfers from banks in Cyprus, according to previous witnesses' testimonies.
In addition, Washkuhn said she had no knowledge of at least one loan Manafort's political consulting company made to one of the shell companies for $275,000."
 
#229
#229
"Today, Greg Andres said that the prosecution “fully intends to call” Rick Gates as a witness after Uzi Asonye yesterday said that they may or may not call him.
"A defense theory has appeared to emerge that Gates was responsible for fake invoices from vendors to Manafort for items such as custom suits, landscaping and home entertainment. The government has offered these fake invoices (four so far), possibly to suggest that Manafort created them to extract even more cash from his shell companies, though the government’s theory about these fake invoices is not yet clear.

"The defense has asked questions on cross-examination tying these fake invoices to Gates. And of course, in opening statement, the defense argued that Gates embezzled from Manafort. It may be necessary for Gates to testify to refute this theory.

"It also may be necessary for Gates to testify for a more technical reason to establish the existence of a conspiracy, so that certain documents will be admissible under the co-conspirator exception to the hearsay rule. The judge said the government would likely use Gates’ testimony to attempt to establish the conspiracy for this purpose. Andres said yes, but that’s not the only way they could prove a conspiracy, so the prosecution is still hedging a little."
 
#231
#231
Manafort's bookkeeper testified today that she had never heard of 14 of his accounts. Offshore accounts. Her job was to keep track of his $ for tax reporting purposes.

Oopsie.
 
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#232
#232
lawgator1 said:
Manafort's bookkeeper testified today that she had never heard of 14 of his accounts. Offshore accounts. Her job was to keep track of his $ for tax reporting purposes.

Oopsie.
Click to expand...

But he seemed to be able to identify these accounts to all the high-end clothing stores on 5th Avenue and Rodeo Drive? Hmm. Funny thing how memory works.
 
#233
#233
"Paul Manafort's longtime bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn said Manafort paid himself a salary of $1.99 million in 2012, according to her testimony about his on-the-books finances from his political consulting firm.

Washkuhn also said Manafort paid his longtime deputy Rick Gates a salary of $240,000 in 2012. Gates made the same salary in 2013 and 2014.

Konstantin Kilimnik, another Manafort associate in Russia, received tens of thousands of dollars from Manafort's consulting company DMP International in 2013 for professional services and in a "private transfer" of cash, Washkuhn said. She said she didn't know who Kilimnik was.

Kilimnik is accused by the Special Counsel's Office of trying to influence trial witnesses."
 
#235
#235
"Paul Manafort's bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn walked through years of ledgers that showed payments in and out of his consulting company, revealing several income payments from shell companies were apparently disguised as loans, and vice versa.
Shell companies that prosecutors allege Manafort used to hide his money offshore loaned his consulting firm DMP International more than $3.5 million from 2014 until 2016.

On at least one occasion, DMP started calling that money income — though Washkuhn's bookkeeping company never saw documentation that the loan was forgiven.
Income from shell companies:
  • Washkuhn also spoke about $7.3 million that came into DMP in 2012 as income from shell companies that she didn't recognize — but prosecutors believe were for Manafort's foreign accounts.
  • Another $3.37 million came in from the shell company Smythson to DMP as income in 2013.
She said they "would have recorded it a bit different here," if she had known Manafort himself or Rick Gates controlled that company.
Prosecutors have implied during Washkuhn's testimony that Manafort was using his DMP business account to pay for personal expenses. That practice, Washkuhn said, should have been kept separate.
Prosecutors also showed that after reporting net profits for consecutive years, DMP International began to lose money in 2016."
 
#236
#236
"After the income from foreign lobbying in Ukraine dried up, Paul Manafort found himself in serious financial trouble. By early 2016, Manafort was falling behind on bills and maxing out a bank credit line, his longtime bookkeeper told jurors on Thursday.

Prosecutor Greg Andres highlighted Manafort's dire financial straits as they turned to the bank fraud portion of their case.
Their argument in a nutshell: Manafort illegally lied to banks to get loans when he was desperate for cash.
The bookkeeper, Heather Washkuhn, described how Manafort's international lobbying company hemorrhaged money in the years after his patrons in Ukraine were driven from power, losing more than $630,000 in 2015 and $1.1 million in 2016.
Without a steady income, Manafort fell behind on his bills, including payments to the bookkeeping company. At one point, Manafort was even at risk of losing his health insurance because he couldn't make the payments, Washkuhn testified.

Manafort's longtime deputy Rick Gates asked Washkuhn in January 2016 if he could draw funds from one of Manafort's credit lines at the Swiss bank UBS. In court Thursday, Washkuhn read from her reply to Gates, where she said the account was "fully drawn."
Another email from Washkuhn to Manafort said $120,000 was "urgently needed for your personal bills." Another series of emails warned him of an upcoming deadline to pay property taxes on one of his homes in New York before penalties kicked in.
The bookkeeper's testimony described Manafort's financial troubles in January 2016. That's one month before he reached out to candidate Donald Trump, offering to run his campaign without getting paid, according to The New York Times. Trump hired Manafort in March 2016 and stayed until August 2016. It's unclear why Manafort offered to work for free at a time when he needed money."
 
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#237
#237
SLICKYINC said:
"After the income from foreign lobbying in Ukraine dried up, Paul Manafort found himself in serious financial trouble. By early 2016, Manafort was falling behind on bills and maxing out a bank credit line, his longtime bookkeeper told jurors on Thursday.

Prosecutor Greg Andres highlighted Manafort's dire financial straits as they turned to the bank fraud portion of their case.
Their argument in a nutshell: Manafort illegally lied to banks to get loans when he was desperate for cash.
The bookkeeper, Heather Washkuhn, described how Manafort's international lobbying company hemorrhaged money in the years after his patrons in Ukraine were driven from power, losing more than $630,000 in 2015 and $1.1 million in 2016.
Without a steady income, Manafort fell behind on his bills, including payments to the bookkeeping company. At one point, Manafort was even at risk of losing his health insurance because he couldn't make the payments, Washkuhn testified.

Manafort's longtime deputy Rick Gates asked Washkuhn in January 2016 if he could draw funds from one of Manafort's credit lines at the Swiss bank UBS. In court Thursday, Washkuhn read from her reply to Gates, where she said the account was "fully drawn."
Another email from Washkuhn to Manafort said $120,000 was "urgently needed for your personal bills." Another series of emails warned him of an upcoming deadline to pay property taxes on one of his homes in New York before penalties kicked in.
The bookkeeper's testimony described Manafort's financial troubles in January 2016. That's one month before he reached out to candidate Donald Trump, offering to run his campaign without getting paid, according to The New York Times. Trump hired Manafort in March 2016 and stayed until August 2016. It's unclear why Manafort offered to work for free at a time when he needed money."
Click to expand...

Betcha Mueller has a pretty good idea why he would have offered to work for free.
 
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#238
#238
evillawyer said:
Betcha Mueller has a pretty good idea why he would have offered to work for free.
Click to expand...

Manafort reportedly wrote to Konstantin Kilimnik, his longtime employee and a Russian-Ukrainian operative, on April 11, 2016, asking whether he had shown "our friends" the media coverage of him since his hiring as a senior campaign strategist.

"I assume you have shown our friends my media coverage, right?" Manafort reportedly wrote.

"Absolutely," replied Kilimnik, who has come under FBI scrutiny over his purported ties to Russian intelligence. "Every article."

"How do we use to get whole," Manafort responded. "Has OVD operation seen?"

Investigators have concluded — and Manafort's spokesman has not disputed — that "OVD" was a reference to the oligarch's full name: Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska.
 
#240
#240
Anyone curious how Manafort is paying his legal bill since he was having trouble paying for his health insurance before he joined the Trump Campaign.
 
#243
#243
hog88 said:
That and his assets were frozen.
Click to expand...

That was absolutely BS. First they bust into his house without authority and take his stuff (like it or not the double secret probation memo came out one week AFTER the raid).

Then they arrest him after that BS raid.

Then they freeze his assets preventing him from mounting a feasible defense.

Pure 100% unadulterated bull ****
 
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#244
#244
NorthDallas40 said:
That was absolutely BS. First they bust into his house without authority and take his stuff (like it or not the double secret probation memo came out one week AFTER the raid).

Then they arrest him after that BS raid.

Then they freeze his assets preventing him from mounting a feasible defense.

Pure 100% unadulterated bull ****
Click to expand...

The fact that the government can freeze/seize a persons assets without a conviction should outrage everyone.
 
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#245
#245
NorthDallas40 said:
That was absolutely BS. First they bust into his house without authority and take his stuff (like it or not the double secret probation memo came out one week AFTER the raid).

Then they arrest him after that BS raid.

Then they freeze his assets preventing him from mounting a feasible defense.

Pure 100% unadulterated bull ****
Click to expand...

Do you not think he is guilty of the crimes accused of? I will settle for truth over any technicality you perceive.
 
#246
#246
Mick said:
Do you not think he is guilty of the crimes accused of? I will settle for truth over any technicality you perceive.
Click to expand...

So you “thinking” he’s guilty justifies preventing him from being rightfully able to defend himself against the accusation?!

And Manafort is the bad guy compared to your fascist rationalization?!

Lol!
 
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#247
#247
NorthDallas40 said:
That was absolutely BS. First they bust into his house without authority and take his stuff (like it or not the double secret probation memo came out one week AFTER the raid).

Then they arrest him after that BS raid.

Then they freeze his assets preventing him from mounting a feasible defense.

Pure 100% unadulterated bull ****
Click to expand...

The funny part is that the FBI said they knocked and no one answered, then they used a key to get in....
 
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#248
#248
NorthDallas40 said:
So you “thinking” he’s guilty justifies preventing him from being rightfully able to defend himself against the accusation?!

And Manafort is the bad guy compared to your fascist rationalization?!

Lol!
Click to expand...

I'm just trying to see the truth. It's not rationalization it seeing what is true. You going to bury your head from that and act like there is anything greater than the truth.
 
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