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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 1 august 2018

PAUL MANAFORT Ukraine and is also ac- method of payment of the "Paul Manafort traveled in thing criminal about being
Continued from Front cused of helping him falsify supporters of the pro-Russia circles that most people will a multimillionaire.
"A man in this courtroom paperwork used to obtain Ukrainian political party never know and he's got- "It isn't a crime to have a
believed the law did not the bank loans, cut a plea who were paying his con- ten handsomely rewarded lot of money and be prof-
apply to him — not tax law, deal with Mueller earlier this sulting fees. for it," Zehnle said. "We do ligate in your spending,"
not banking law," Asonye year. Gates also worked as Defense lawyers also not dispute that." U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis
said as he sketched out the an aide on Trump's cam- sought to address head-on The judge even interrupt- III said. "There was No Col-
evidence gathered by spe- paign. Manafort's wealth and the ed the prosecutor during lusion (except by Crooked
cial counsel Robert Muel- Manafort, who has been images of a gaudy lifestyle his opening statements to Hillary and the Demo-
ler's team in Manafort's jailed for nearly two months, that jurors are expected to caution him against sug- crats)!" Trump tweeted ear-
bank fraud and tax evasion wore a black suit and ap- see during the trial. gesting there was some- ly Tuesday.q
trial. peared fully engaged in his
It's the first trial arising from defense, whispering with his
Mueller's investigation into attorneys during jury selec-
potential ties between tion and scribbling notes as
Donald Trump's presiden- the prosecution began its
tial campaign and Russia. opening statement.
Mueller was not present in Before the start of jury selec-
the courtroom. tion Tuesday, prosecutors
Defense attorney Thomas filed an expanded list of its
Zehnle said in his opening evidence exhibits, includ-
statement that Manafort ing several email chains
trusted others to keep track between Manafort and
of the millions of dollars he Stephen Calk, a Chicago
was earning from his Ukrai- bank chairman. The added
nian political work. evidence also appears to
He made clear that under- include documents related
mining the credibility of Rick to bank accounts in Cy-
Gates, his former business prus.
associate and the govern- The government intends
ment's star witness, is cen- to show that Manafort fun-
tral to the defense strategy. neled more than $60 million
Zehnle said Manafort, earn- in proceeds from his Ukrai-
ing millions as a political nian political consulting
consultant helping officials through offshore accounts
in other parts of the world, and hid a "significant" por-
relied on Gates and others tion of it from the IRS.
— including a professional Asonye said Manafort cre-
accounting firm — to keep ated "bogus" loans, falsi-
watch over the money. fied documents and lied
"Money's coming in fast. It's to his tax preparer and
a lot, and Paul Manafort bookkeeper to conceal
trusted that Rick Gates was the money, which he ob-
keeping track of it," Zehn- tained from Ukrainian oli-
le said. "That's what Rick garchs through a series of
Gates was being paid to shell company transfers
do." and later from fraudulently
He warned jurors that obtained bank loans in
Gates could not be trusted the U.S. But Zehnle disput-
and was the type of witness ed prosecutors' account
who would say anything he that Manafort was trying
could to save himself from to conceal his earnings by
a lengthy prison sentence storing money in bank ac-
and a crippling financial counts in Cyprus. He said
penalty. that arrangement was
Gates, who spent years not Manafort's doing but
working for Manafort in was instead the preferred