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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat does Mueller have? Manafort trial offers glimpse
By ERIC TUCKER and CHAD DAY
1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) The trial of President Donald Trumps onetime campaign chairman will open this week with tales of lavish spending, secret shell companies and millions of dollars of Ukrainian money flowing through offshore bank accounts and into the political consultants pocket.
Whats likely to be missing: answers about whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential election, or really any mention of Russia at all.
Paul Manaforts financial crimes trial, the first arising from special counsel Robert Muellers investigation, will center on his Ukrainian consulting work and only briefly touch on his involvement with the presidents campaign. But the broader implications are unmistakable.
The trial, scheduled to begin Tuesday with jury selection in Alexandria, Virginia, will give the public its most detailed glimpse of evidence Muellers team has spent the year accumulating. It will feature testimony about the business dealings and foreign ties of a defendant Trump entrusted to run his campaign during a critical stretch in 2016, including during the Republican convention. And it will unfold at a delicate time for the president as Muellers team presses for an interview and as Trump escalates his attacks on an investigation he calls a witch hunt.
Adding to the intrigue is the expected spectacle of Manaforts deputy, Rick Gates, testifying against him after cutting a plea deal with prosecutors, and the speculation that Manafort, who faces charges in two different courts and decades in prison if convicted, may be holding out for a pardon from Trump.
Perhaps he believes that hes done nothing wrong, and because hes done nothing wrong, hes unwilling to plead guilty to any crime whatsoever even if its a lesser crime, said Jimmy Gurule, a Notre Dame law professor and former federal prosecutor. Obviously, thats very risky for him.
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https://apnews.com/9624804cece54beda27362357ce8d2e4/Manafort-trial-to-shed-light-on-Mueller-probe-evidence
CincyDem
(6,355 posts)WhiteTara
(29,704 posts)without fear, whether he admits guilt or not. He's a loose end, they just haven't been able to get to him yet.
CincyDem
(6,355 posts)Just because he HASN'T talk doesn't mean he'll NEVER talk. Only a novochok cocktail ensures that.