Manafort trial - LIVE: Uzo Asonye tells jury former Trump official 'paid for $15,000 ostrich jacket' and other lavish items using expenses
The trial of former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort begins on Tuesday with the lobbyist accused of tax evasion and bank fraud.
Charges against Mr Trump’s former aide have been brought as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
However, while that investigation focuses on potential meddling by Moscow in the US democratic system, Mr Manafort’s trial will focus more on his dealings in Ukraine, with brief mentions of the election race.
It may however produce politically damaging headlines for the Mr Trump, as the dealings of a man who ran his presidential campaign for three months are picked over in public.
Mr Manafort has denied the charges, but has been warned he could spend the rest of his life behind bars if found guilty.
Prosecutors have lined up 35 witnesses and more than 500 pieces of evidence they believe will show the lobbyist earned more than $60m (£47m) from his Ukrainian dealings, while concealing a “significant percentage” from the IRS.
He may yet face a further trial in Washington this September on charges relating to possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Follow our live updates of Paul Manafort's trial here:
Mr Manafort's defense attorney Thomas Zehnle described the roles of several witnesses who will testify during the trial. The witnesses appear to feed into the strategy of blaming Mr Ri
Amanda Metzler, an in-house bookkeeper for Paul Manafort's company until 2011, will describe how she tracked money by working with his longtime deputy Rick Gates and that the offshore accounts used weren't hidden from her.
Mr Zehnle also described how two accountants, Philip Ayliff and Cindy LaPorta, of the firm, Kositzka, Wicks and Company, will allege they received false information from Gates about Manafort's accounts. Mr Ayliff and Ms LaPorta are among the five witnesses to receive immunity in exchange for their testimony.
Prosecutor Uzo Asonye made note of witnesses in general terms, telling the jury they would hear from “a bookeeper,” associates of Mr Manafort and others.
The first witness of Mr Manafort's trial has now taken the stand.
It is Tad Devine, the Democratic political consultant who worked with Mr Manafort in Ukraine.
He described the organisation of Mr Manafort's foreign political consulting operation. Prosecutors are questioning him, and the defense attorneys will have a chance to cross-examine him.
Mr Gates pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and lying to federal investigators in February. Mr Gates was charged with several crimes in the Virginia case, but after his plea, those charges were dropped.
Paul Manafort's associate, Richard - or Rick - Gates made a plea deal with authorities having faced similar charges to Mr Manafort, but Mr Manafort's lawyers are looking to undermine that in their opening remarks.
Mr Manafort misplaced his trust in Gates, his lawyer Mr Zehnle said, and Mr Manafort’s partner essentially cheated Manafort, who was busy running political campaigns and doing consulting work in Ukraine. Mr Zehnle tellls the court that Mr Gates had been the one to keep track of money.
“Rick Gates had his hand in the cookie jar and he couldn’t take the risk that his boss might find out,” Mr Zehnle alleged.
Mr Gates legal team could not be reached for comment.
As might have been expected, Mr Manafort's lawyers have sought to rebuke those claims.
Defense attorney Thomas Zehnle said Mrl Manfort’s unusual financial arrangements came at the behest of the people in Ukraine who were funding Mr Manafort’s work. Mr Zehnle said Mr Manafort never intentionally deceived tax authorities about his income, but instead did not realize he needed to file certain forms and make certain declarations.
“This is not a case where someone flew to Switzerland and stashed money in an account,” Mr Zehnle said.
Prosecutors say Mr Manafort orchestrated a multimillion-dollar conspiracy to evade US tax and banking laws, leaving behind a trail of lies as he lived a lavish lifestyle.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye told the jury that Mr Manafort paid for personal expenses allegedly using money funneled into the accounts, such as a $21,000 watch and a $15,000 jacket made of ostrich.
Opening statements have begun and the prosecutors - the side of special prosecutor Robert Mueller who leads the FBI's Russia probe - are up first.
The prosecutor said in court Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort "put himself and his money above the law".
The jury heard in court from Uzo Asonye, on the prosecutor team, that Mr Manafort opened more than 30 overseas accounts in three countries to "receive and hide" his income from Ukraine.
In an apparent effort to minimise the effect of politics on the trail, the judge has ordered both sides not to ask jurors for whom they voted in the 2016 presidential election.
But, talking politics may be inevitable in this trial as prosecutors are set to argue that Mr Manafort obtained millions in bank loans through fraud and they allege the timeline includes his months on the 2016 campaign.
Judge TS Ellis has ordered both sides to stay away from referencing Russia as they present evidence over the next few weeks to jurors on the financial charges at hand.
Prosecutors - Mr Mueller's team - have lined up 35 witnesses and more than 500 pieces of evidence they say will show how Mr Manafort earned more than $60m (£45m) from his work for the Ukraine government and then concealed a "significant percentage" of that money from US tax inspectors.
It may difficult to navigate around the judge's rules, however, as the name Viktor Yanukovych may come up. Mr Manafort's work involved promoting the pro-Russian politician with close ties to President Vladimir Putin who then fled to Russia after Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.
Mr Trump has the ability as president to pardon Mr Manafort for any federal crimes should his one-time campaign manager be found guilty. However, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told journalists there have been no discussions on the matter as yet.
There is a chance jury selection will wrap up today. Out of a potential group of 65 jurors comprised of 32 men and 33 women, 12 jurors and four alternates will be chosen, CBS News reported.
Potential jurors were likely asked if they have any affiliation with the US Department of Justice, the 2016 campaign team, or the current Trump administration.
Donald Trump's former campaign manager faces longer sentence guidelines in the Washington DC court case.
Prosecutors wrote he faced a range of 15 to 20 years for those charges, but that does not include the latest accusations of witness tampering levied at him by special prosector in charge of the Russia probe Robert Mueller.
FBI Special Agent Brock Domin, in a declaration filed with Mr Mueller’s motion, said Mr Manafort had attempted to call, text, and send encrypted messages in February 2018 to two potential witnesses from The Hapsburg Group, a firm he had worked with in the past when promoting the interests of Ukraine in the US.
Agents recovered telephone and text records from Mr Manafort’s iCloud account as evidence of his contact with the two individuals, Mr Domin said
If Mr Manafort is found guilty the 69-year-old could spend the rest of his life in prison.
The bank fraud charges alone carry a maximum sentence of 270 years total, filing false tax returns may result in a maximum of 15 years, and on the charges related to a failure to report foreign bank and financial accounts he faces up to 20 years.
Even the minimum sentences, to be determined at the discretion of Judge TS Ellis in the Virginia US District Court, are four to five years on the bank fraud charges and eight to 10 years on the tax-related counts.
The Associated Press has reported dozens of potential jurors are packed into the courtroom to face questions from the judge and lawyers about whether they can be fair and impartial
During the current trial, jurors are expected to see photographs of Mr Manafort’s Mercedes-Benz and of his Hampton property putting green and swimming pool.
There is likely to be testimony, too, about tailored Beverly Hills clothing, high-end antiques, rugs and art and New York Yankees seasons tickets.
The luxurious lifestyle was funded by Mr Manafort's political consulting for the pro-Russian Ukrainian political party of Viktor Yanukovych, who was deposed as Ukraine's president in 2014.
Mr Manafort served as Donald Trump's campaign manager for three months (Getty)
Lawyers have tangled over how much jurors will hear of his overseas political work, particularly about his ties to Russia and other wealthy political figures.
Mr Trump and his lawyers have repeatedly sought to play down Mr Manafort's connection to the president, yet the trial won't be entirely without references to the campaign.
Mr Mueller's team says Mr Manafort's position in the Trump campaign is relevant to some of the bank fraud charges.
Prosecutors plan to present evidence that a chairman of one of the banks allowed Manafort to file inaccurate loan information in exchange for a job on the campaign and the promise of a job in the Trump administration that never materialised.
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