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Paul Manafort Thread (1 Viewer)

squistion

squistion

Footballguy
Paul Manafort is set to go to trial on financial fraud charges starting today in United States District Court in Alexandria, VA.

Jury selection begins today.

Please post any related news and trial updates here.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/30/paul-manafort-on-trial-what-you-need-to-know.html

Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort starts his trial Tuesday. Here's what you need to know

Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, is set to stand trial on charges brought through special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe on Tuesday.

Manafort's trial on bank fraud and tax crime charges is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. ET in a U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., and is expected to last roughly three weeks. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges lodged against him.

Manafort faces similar charges in federal court in Washington, D.C., though that trial isn't scheduled to begin until Sept. 17.

(More what you need to know info at the above link)

 
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-fish- said:
That's quick.  I had a 6 week civil trial and it took us two days to seat a jury.
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In NJ, and in other jurisdictions (state level) where judges allow everything under the sun to be a "hardship," jury selection takes a week at least.

 
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wow so i just heard on npr its 6 men and 6 women and they will open up the trial this hour whoa is that fast laywer brohans or is it normal thanks take that to the bank brohans 

 
Mookie said:
Wow.  Conceding the criminal activity and claiming to be a clueless beneficiary in an ostrich jacket.  Good luck with that Pauly.
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Don't see how that defense will stand up on the tax fraud charges.

 
Trump weighs in on Manafort:

Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump 31m31 minutes ago

Paul Manafort worked for Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other highly prominent and respected political leaders. He worked for me for a very short time. Why didn’t government tell me that he was under investigation. These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion - a Hoax!

 
Contrary to these assertion's, inmate Manafort said he’s been treated like a VIP in jail and has had unusually broad access to communications. One has to wonder if Trump is telegraphing a future pardon for these multiple charged crimes.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 10m10 minutes ago

Looking back on history, who was treated worse, Alfonse Capone, legendary mob boss, killer and “Public Enemy Number One,” or Paul Manafort, political operative & Reagan/Dole darling, now serving solitary confinement - although convicted of nothing? Where is the Russian Collusion?

 
squistion said:
Contrary to these assertion's, inmate Manafort said he’s been treated like a VIP in jail and has had unusually broad access to communications. One has to wonder if Trump is telegraphing a future pardon for these multiple charged crimes.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 10m10 minutes ago

Looking back on history, who was treated worse, Alfonse Capone, legendary mob boss, killer and “Public Enemy Number One,” or Paul Manafort, political operative & Reagan/Dole darling, now serving solitary confinement - although convicted of nothing? Where is the Russian Collusion?
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Al Capone is trending now of course. :lmao:

 
Millennial Politics‏ @MillenPolitics 54m54 minutes ago

If you’re comparing your Former Campaign Chairman to Al Capone, you’re losing.

Nick Jack Pappas‏Verified account @Pappiness 46m46 minutes ago

The main difference between Al Capone and Donald Trump is that we've actually seen Al Capone's taxes.

Ed Krassenstein‏ @EdKrassen 26m26 minutes ago

Fun Fact: Barack Obama never had to compare his Campaign Chairman to Al Capone.

Dave Itzkoff‏Verified account @ditzkoff 53m53 minutes ago

and now to argue for the good character and sterling reputation of my indicted former campaign chairman by comparing him to [checks notes] Al Capone

 
Bucky86 said:
uuuuh....what?

Andrea Mitchell‏Verified account @mitchellreports

FollowFollow @mitchellreports

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.@KenDilanianNBC: Prosecutors in the courtroom say that Rick Gates may or may not testify – he was set to be the star witness in this trial and walk the jury through a lot of the paperwork but now that might not happen. #AMR

9:15 AM - 1 Aug 2018
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I think the term "star witness" is a bit misleading.  From what I have read and heard, Gates role was to authenticate documents (or walk through the paperwork).  This is a documents case.  I'm not sure how much he's needed to authenticate them, so it might make sense to not give the defense a chance to bloody him up if he's more important for the DC trial or some future conspiracy charges down the road.  

Manafort's lawyers can try to blame Gates all they want, but Manafort signed inaccurate financial statements and loan applications.  

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
I think the term "star witness" is a bit misleading.  From what I have read and heard, Gates role was to authenticate documents (or walk through the paperwork).  This is a documents case.  I'm not sure how much he's needed to authenticate them, so it might make sense to not give the defense a chance to bloody him up if he's more important for the DC trial or some future conspiracy charges down the road.  

Manafort's lawyers can try to blame Gates all they want, but Manafort signed inaccurate financial statements and loan applications.  
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the defense could certainly still call him as a witness right?  assuming they're going to try to blame him for everything.

 
Judge is preventing the prosecution and witnesses from using the word "oligarch" because it has a negative connotation.   

 
Bucky86 said:
uuuuh....what?

Andrea Mitchell‏Verified account @mitchellreports

FollowFollow @mitchellreports

More

.@KenDilanianNBC: Prosecutors in the courtroom say that Rick Gates may or may not testify – he was set to be the star witness in this trial and walk the jury through a lot of the paperwork but now that might not happen. #AMR

9:15 AM - 1 Aug 2018
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The judge got impatient with questioning of an FBI agent about the contents of a document written by Gates.  The judge asked if Gates was going to testify, since if he was this was a waste of time.   The prosecution said maybe, maybe not.  The judge called him on his bull#### and said you know exactly who your witnesses are going to be.

 
JerseyToughGuys said:

curious if he was googling - so strange
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I think what happens is that he has an aide read him the first 2 paragraphs of the Wikipedia article on a person, then he dictates a couple sentences from that article, and sometimes words get misspelled in the process (either by Trump or the aide).

 
Sheriff Bart said:
Is this is as dumb as it seems? 
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The judge in this case is a reputed hard-###, but very, very smart.   His concern is that using a term with a negative connotation for Manafort's business associates could influence the jury.   By controlling the use of the word, he shuts down a defense argument on the inevitable appeal if Manafort is convicted.   He wants the trial to be based on facts, not appearances.   Same reason he refused to let them admit photos showing his lavish lifestyle.

 
Manafort's attorneys seem to only have one defense:  It's Rick Gates' fault.

Prosecution questioning Wednesday of the former manager of a luxury men’s clothing boutique Manafort frequented, Alan Couture in New York, revealed an intriguing and mysterious development: someone apparently forged invoices from the store.

Seeking to establish just how expensive Manafort’s tastes were, Manafort’s team got Maximillian Katzman—the store’s ex-manager and son of its owner—to certify that Manafort ran up bills of more than $900,000 between 2010 and 2014.

Katzman said the boutique had only about 40 customers and Manafort ranked in the top five. Unlike other clients, Manafort didn’t pay the firm by check or credit card, but in funds wired from accounts abroad in the names of foreign businesses. “This is the only client that paid us in international wire transfers,” Katzman aid.

Although many details about Manafort's spending have been made public, prosecutor Greg Andres surprised many in the courtroom by posting an invoice on the TV monitors from “Alan Corture LLC.”

Asked about the bill, Katzman quickly indicated it was fake. “It’s off by a letter,” he said. “The zip code is incorrect.”

Unlike the real invoices, the invoice Andres showed did not contain any direct reference to Manafort. Instead, it appeared to be intended to show direct billing to a company linked to Manafort, Global Endeavor LLC. That was one of the companies used to wire funds to pay Manafort’s bills.

Katzman said he knew the invoice was not authentic. “We have never billed to Global Endeavor, nor had a client named Global Endeavor,” he said.

Prosecutors didn’t say why someone might have forged the invoices, but they have accused Gates of conspiring with Manafort to forge financial records in connection with loan applications. A forged invoice might have been useful in persuading bookkeepers or tax preparers that the payments to Alan Couture were some sort of business-to-business transaction rather than a way to cover Manafort’s personal bills.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Jay Nanavati suggested the payments from abroad might not be surprising given Manafort’s regular travel abroad. “Is it fair to say Mr. Manafort was one of your more international clients?” the lawyer asked.

“Absolutely,” Katzman replied.

Nanavati also suggested that Manafort’s partner and aide Rick Gates might have been behind the apparently forged invoices. Katzman told the court he had some dealings with Gates to try to get bills paid, but under questioning by the defense attorney, Katzman said he could not address Gates’ educational level “or spelling ability.”
Click to expand...

 
Sheriff Bart said:
Is this is as dumb as it seems? 
Click to expand...
One of the first Rules of Evidence you learn is that a judge should exclude evidence if it's probative value is significantly outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence.

In this trial, the fact that Manafort worked for unsavory people has very little probative value to the alleged bank fraud.  So allowing the characterization really only serves the purpose of tarnishing Manafort's credibility.  You could argue that the defense opened the door to that by characterizing Manafort as a patriot who had worked on Presidential campaigns, but I think it was the right decision at this stage.  

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
One of the first Rules of Evidence you learn is that a judge should exclude evidence if it's probative value is significantly outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence.

In this trial, the fact that Manafort worked for unsavory people has very little probative value to the alleged bank fraud.  So allowing the characterization really only serves the purpose of tarnishing Manafort's credibility.  You could argue that the defense opened the door to that by characterizing Manafort as a patriot who had worked on Presidential campaigns, but I think it was the right decision at this stage.  
Click to expand...


-fish- said:
The judge in this case is a reputed hard-###, but very, very smart.   His concern is that using a term with a negative connotation for Manafort's business associates could influence the jury.   By controlling the use of the word, he shuts down a defense argument on the inevitable appeal if Manafort is convicted.   He wants the trial to be based on facts, not appearances.   Same reason he refused to let them admit photos showing his lavish lifestyle.
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Thanks guys. :thumbup:

 
Opie said:
And what we failed to post
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Wow. maybe try reading the two posts LITERALLY above yours.  

I mean, did you just not even bother to read or figure no lie is too blatant - like that we glossed over the Judges ruling and interactions re: the word oligarch?

Don't know how people can just put stuff out like that when it's literally refuted in the above two posts... do they want to have any influence on others? Or just don't care if through so many lies, it's not even worth assuming any actual truth or value exists? and if that's the case, what's the purpose in posting, if your words hold no value?

 
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Koya said:
Wow. maybe try reading the two posts LITERALLY above yours.  

I mean, did you just not even bother to read or figure no lie is too blatant - like that we glossed over the Judges ruling and interactions re: the word oligarch?

Don't know how people can just out stuff out like that when it's literally refuted in the above two posts... do they want to have any influence in others? Or just don't care if through so many lies, it's not even worth assuming any actual truth or value exists?
Click to expand...
Opie's bubble is made from the titanium of scavenged Russian submarines.

 
squistion said:
Contrary to these assertion's, inmate Manafort said he’s been treated like a VIP in jail and has had unusually broad access to communications. One has to wonder if Trump is telegraphing a future pardon for these multiple charged crimes.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 10m10 minutes ago

Looking back on history, who was treated worse, Alfonse Capone, legendary mob boss, killer and “Public Enemy Number One,” or Paul Manafort, political operative & Reagan/Dole darling, now serving solitary confinement - although convicted of nothing? Where is the Russian Collusion?
Click to expand...
Where are you getting the italicized?

 
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