The star witness against Paul Manafort testified Monday that they committed crimes together by conspiring to hide millions of dollars in offshore accounts so the former Trump 2016 campaign chairman could cheat on his taxes.
Gates, once Manafort’s right-hand man, also said they doctored financial statements and misled American banks so Manafort could score millions of dollars in loans.
“Were you involved in any criminal activity with Mr. Manafort?” prosecutor Greg Andres asked Rick Gates.
“Yes,” Gates said.
“Did you commit any crimes with Mr. Manafort?” the prosecutor then asked.
“Yes,” Gates said.
Gates also admitted embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort’s political-consulting company by inflating his expense reports, the Washington Post reported.
Manafort glared at Gates — who appeared without the full beard he’s worn in recent months — after he took the witness stand at the tax and bank fraud trial of President Trump’s former campaign chairman in Alexandria, Va.
Gates, is testifying under terms of a deal with Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who’s investigating suspected collusion between Russia and Trump’s campaign during the 2016 presidential election. He faces up to six years in prison under the terms of his cooperation deal.
Some of the allegations against the 69-year-old Manafort — who faces as much as 20 years in prison if convicted in this case — involve his work for pro-Russia pols in Ukraine, which Gates said he assisted.
“He’s one of the most politically brilliant strategists I’ve ever worked with,” Manafort’s turncoat testified.
But Gates — who the defense blames for Manafort’s alleged wrongdoing — said their relationship was strictly professional.
“Outside of business, we did not socialize,” he told the jury,
After sending the panel home for the day, Judge T. S. Ellis III engaged in a heated back-and-forth with prosecutor Greg Andres when the judge suggested prosecutors were dragging out the case, which Andres denied.
At one point, Ellis scolded Andres by saying, “Don’t look down, don’t roll your eyes,” Reuters reported.