The jury in the financial fraud trial of Donald Trump‘s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has found him guilty on eight counts of bank and tax fraud, but was unable to reach a consensus on 10 other charges.
The convictions mark the first trial victory stemming from the Russia investigation being led by special counsel Robert Mueller, and which is working to determine to what extent — if any — members of the Trump 2016 campaign colluded or worked together with Russian officials to impact the outcome of that election. At least four individuals who worked on the 2016 campaign have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from Mr Mueller's investigation.
While observers have suggested that the guilty verdict against Mr Manafort could impact others in Trump's orbit, the charges he faced were not directly related to his work for the Trump campaign — though some of the alleged actions brought up by prosecutors did occur while Mr Manafort worked for the campaign.
Live Updates
We are still waiting for a verdict from the jury, who will enter into a fourth day of deliberations this afternoon.
- The jury sent Judge Ellis four questions on day one of deliberations. One of these requested Judge Ellis to define what is meant by "reasonable doubt" - as in the jury need to believe the charges are proved "beyond reasonable doubt" in order to convict
- On the second day, the jurors asked for an early dismissal
- On Friday, Judge Ellis disclosed he had received death threats related to the trial and was being protected by US marshals. The jury was not present when the remarks were made
- Mr Manafort’s defence attorney, Kevin Downing, said his team “feels good” regarding the case
On Friday, prosecutors working for Mueller said in a court filing that George Papadopoulos – a former Trump adviser – should spend six months in prison for lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation.
The filing also revealed several new details about the early days of the investigation.
The prosecutors disclosed that Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump during the 2016 election, caused irreparable damage to the investigation because he lied repeatedly in an interview in January 2017.
Those lies, they said, resulted in the FBI missing an opportunity to properly question a professor Papadopoulos was in contact with who told him Russians possessed “dirt” on Hillary Clinton, in the form of emails.
The New York Times is reporting that federal authorities investigating whether Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, committed bank and tax fraud have zeroed in on well over $20 million in loans obtained by taxi businesses that he and his family own.
“I think the jurors all know how serious this case is and they want to take the time and go through the evidence and the charges,” said Wolfson. “Staying until 6:15 shows they’re working hard, and there was something they wanted to finish.”
Re-cap:
Manafort’s former right-hand man, Rick Gates, took the stand for the prosecution, along with 26 other witnesses. Gates, also a former Trump campaign aide, was indicted along with Manafort but pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government.
Jurors also were given 388 exhibits, including some that showed how Manafort spent money on luxuries including a $15,000 ostrich jacket, a $21,000 watch and $6m in US real estate.
The defense rested its case without presenting any witnesses, although Manafort attorney Kevin Downing raised credibility issues in his cross-examination of Gates.
- Five counts of false tax returns
- Four counts of failure to report foreign bank accounts
- Three counts of bank fraud related to loans from Citizens Bank
- Two counts of bank fraud related to a loan from the Banc of California
- Four counts of bank fraud related to his loans from Federal Savings Bank
There is a note from the jury in the Manafort trial, but no details yet on what the note says.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys are all in the courtroom.
The jury asked in a note signed by the foreman today: "If we cannot come to a consensus for a single count, how can we fill in the verdict sheet?"
The jury note also said they needed a new verdict sheet, and they asked what not coming to a conclusion would mean for the "final verdict."
Judge TS Ellis said he is preparing to give the jury a direction to continue deliberations to see if it can reach a unanimous conclusion.
The court is on a five-minute recess as both sets of attorneys review the instruction language, called a Sawyer instruction, that Mr Ellis intends to give.
He also said he is not yet ready to ask jurors where they stand on other counts.
Paul Manafort's attorney Kevin Downing has asked Judge Ellis to give the jury a new verdict form, after the jury said "we will need another form please" in their Tuesday note.
Mr Downing said he wished jurors would be given a third option on the form -- a hung jury option for each count. The jury verdict form gives jurors only the options of not guilty or guilty for each of the 18 charges against Mr Manafort - all of which he denies
The judge said he will not ask the jury for a partial verdict at this time. They must continue their work, he told the court.
Give "deference" to each other and "listen to each other's arguments," Judge TS Ellis told the jurors.
"You're the exclusive judges," he said, encouraging the jurors to make their own decisions about witness testimony and evidence in the case.
"Take all the time which you feel is necessary."
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