2018 American criminal trials
The two criminal trials of Paul Manafort were the first cases brought to trial by the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Manafort served as campaign chair for the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign from June 20 to August 19, 2016.
In July 2017, the FBI conducted a raid of Manafort's home, authorized by search warrant under charges of interference in the 2016 election. Manafort and his business assistant Rick Gates were both indicted and arrested in October 2017 for charges of conspiracy against the United States, making false statements, money laundering, and failing to register as foreign agents for Ukraine. Gates entered a plea bargain in February 2018.
Manafort's first trial on 18 criminal counts began on July 31, 2018. In that trial, Gates testified that he committed tax evasion and embezzlement crimes with Manafort. Under cross examination, Gates also admitted to an extramarital relationship funded with money embezzled from Manafort. Manafort was found guilty on eight counts (covering filing false tax returns, bank fraud, and failing to disclose a foreign bank account), but a mistrial was declared on the remaining ten counts due to a single juror harboring reasonable doubts.
Weeks later, before a second trial on seven separate criminal counts could begin, Manafort reached a plea bargain on two of those counts (conspiracy to defraud the United States and witness tampering). As part of the agreement, he also admitted guilt to an additional seven counts left unresolved from the earlier mistrial (bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy), forfeited several properties and accounts, and agreed to full cooperation with the prosecution.
Background.
FBI and special counsel investigation.
Paul Manafort is a lawyer, lobbyist, and political consultant. He often lobbied on behalf of controversial foreign leaders including former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian politician with strong ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Manafort became an adviser to Yanukovych in 2004; after Yanokovych's overthrow he helped to organize an opposition party to the new government. He was also involved in investment projects with Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs.
The FBI reportedly began a criminal investigation into Manafort in 2014, shortly after Yanukovich was deposed. That investigation predated the 2016 election by several years and is ongoing. In addition, Manafort is also a person of interest in the FBI counterintelligence probe looking into the Russian government's interference in the 2016 presidential election.
On January 19, 2017, the eve of Trump's presidential inauguration, it was reported that Manafort was under active investigation by multiple federal agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Director of National Intelligence and the financial crimes unit of the Treasury Department. Investigations were said to be based on intercepted Russian communications as well as financial transactions. It was later confirmed that Manafort was wiretapped by the FBI "before and after the [2016] election ... including a period when Manafort was known to talk to President Donald Trump". The surveillance of Manafort began in 2014, before Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of United States.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed on May 17, 2017, by the Justice Department to oversee the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and related matters, took over the existing criminal probe involving Manafort.
Chairman of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.
In February 2016, Manafort approached Donald Trump through a mutual friend, Thomas J. Barrack Jr. He pointed out his experience advising presidential campaigns in the United States and around the world, described himself as an outsider not connected to the Washington establishment, and offered to work without salary. In March 2016 he joined Trump's presidential campaign to take the lead in getting commitments from convention delegates. On June 20, 2016, Trump fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and promoted Manafort to the position. Manafort took over control of the daily operations of the campaign as well as an expanded $20 million budget, hiring decisions, advertising, and media strategy.
In August 2016, Manafort's connections to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russian Party of Regions drew national attention in the US, where it was reported that Manafort may have illegally received $12.7 million in off-the-books funds from the Party of Regions.
On August 17, 2016, Trump received his first security briefing. The same day, August 17, Trump shook up his campaign organization in a way that appeared to minimize Manafort's role. It was reported that members of Trump's family, particularly Jared Kushner, who had originally been a strong backer of Manafort, had become uneasy about his Russian connections and suspected that he had not been forthright about them. Manafort stated in an internal staff memorandum that he would "remain the campaign chairman and chief strategist, providing the big-picture, long-range campaign vision". However, two days later, Trump announced his acceptance of Manafort's resignation from the campaign after Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway took on senior leadership roles within that campaign.
Upon Manafort's resignation as campaign chairman, Newt Gingrich stated that "nobody should underestimate how much Paul Manafort did to really help get this campaign to where it is right now". Gingrich later added that, for the Trump administration, "It makes perfect sense for them to distance themselves from somebody who apparently didn't tell them what he was doing."
Raid and pre-trial motions through June 2018.
On July 26, 2017, the day after Manafort's United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing and the morning of his planned hearing before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, FBI agents at Mueller's direction conducted a raid on Manafort's home in Alexandria, Virginia, using a search warrant to seize documents and other materials in regard to the Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Before the search, Manafort had voluntarily provided some documents to congressional investigators, including the notes he took during the meeting with Veselnitskaya. "United States v. Paul Manafort" was analyzed by attorney George T. Conway III (husband of Kellyanne Conway), who wrote that it strengthened the constitutionality of the Mueller investigation.
On October 27, 2017, Manafort and Rick Gates were indicted by a federal grand jury as part of Mueller's investigation. The twelve-count indictment charged them with conspiracy against the United States, making false statements, money laundering, and failing to register as foreign agents for Ukraine as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Manafort was charged with four counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts while Gates was charged with three. The charges arise from Manafort's consulting work for a pro-Russian government in Ukraine and are unrelated to the Trump campaign.
On October 30, 2017, Manafort and Gates surrendered to the FBI, and a judge placed them both under house arrest and required them to provide unsecured bonds. On December 4, 2017, prosecutors asked the judge to revoke Manafort's bond agreement, charging that Manafort violated the terms of his bail by working on an op-ed piece with Konstantin Kilimnik, an associate with ties to Russian intelligence.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued an order on December 22, 2017, demanding that Gates explain why his comments in a brief, videotaped address to the fundraiser held in an Arlington Holiday Inn on December 19 did not amount to a violation of the gag order she issued in the case. Of particular concern to Jackson is Gates' involvement with the Washington-area lobbyist who organized the event, Jack Burkman.
2018.
On January 16, 2018, Jackson denied the government's proposal for a May 14 trial, indicating that the criminal trial appears likely to start in September or October. Gates was released from home confinement, but not Manafort. A letter from Manafort's physician had asked that he be permitted to attend a gym for health reasons, but Jackson said, "While he's subject to home confinement, he's not confined to his couch, and I believe he has plenty of opportunity to exercise."
On February 1, 2018, three of Gates' attorneys filed a motion to withdraw their representation of Gates. Walter Mack, one of the attorneys, said in court the previous month that Mueller's prosecutors had warned him of more impending charges against Gates. Gates has reportedly added Tom Green, a prominent white-collar attorney, to his defense team, signaling a possible change to his legal approach; and attorneys from Green's firm were seen entering the building where Mueller works. On the hearing of the motion on February 8 before Judge Jackson, the attorneys cited 'irreconcilable differences' with their client. Gates' new attorney has not filed a formal appearance in the case, which is the typical procedure when changing counsel. The outcome of the hearing is still subject to a gag order.
On February 15, 2018, CNN reported that Gates was finalizing a plea deal with Mueller's office, indicating he was poised to cooperate in the investigation. He had already undergone his "Queen for a Day" interview, in which Gates answered any and all questions from Mueller's team, including about his own case and other potential criminal activity he witnessed or participated in.
On February 22, 2018, Manafort and Gates were further charged with additional crimes, involving a tax avoidance scheme and bank fraud, in Virginia. The charges were filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, rather than in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, as the tax fraud overt actions had occurred in Virginia and not in the District, forcing Mueller to bring the charges in Virginia, because one of the defendants did not agree to waive the issue of venue jurisdiction. The new indictment alleges that Manafort, with assistance from Gates, laundered over $30 million through offshore bank accounts between approximately 2006 and 2015. Manafort allegedly used funds in these offshore accounts to purchase real estate in the United States, in addition to personal goods and services.
On February 23, 2018, Gates pleaded guilty in federal court to lying to investigators and engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the United States. Gates said he had previously intended to challenge the charges against him, but recently decided to plead guilty. He admitted that he had lied to investigators in February 2018 while he was under indictment and negotiating with prosecutors. Gates faces a possible prison sentence of nearly six years, but he agreed to cooperate with the Mueller investigation for a possible sentence reduction, possibly only probation, depending on the level of cooperation he provides to the government. Through a spokesman, Manafort expressed disappointment in Gates' decision to plead guilty and said he has no similar plans. "I continue to maintain my innocence," he said. On February 27, the special counsel moved to dismiss without prejudice 22 tax and bank fraud charges against Gates as part of their plea agreement.
On February 28, 2018, Manafort entered a not guilty plea in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Jackson subsequently set a trial date of September 17, 2018, and reprimanded Manafort and his attorney for violating her gag order by issuing a statement the previous week after former co-defendant Gates pleaded guilty. On March 8, 2018, Manafort also pleaded not guilty to bank fraud and tax charges in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Judge T. S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia set his trial on those charges to begin on July 10, 2018. On March 28, 2018, Manafort declined a plea deal.
In response to Manafort's court motions that charges against him be dismissed because Mueller exceeded his investigative authority, Mueller's office on April 2, 2018, released in a court filing a partially-redacted memorandum of August 2, 2017, in which Rod Rosenstein specifically authorized Mueller to investigate whether Manafort "committed a crime or crimes by colluding with Russian government officials with respect to the Russian government's efforts to interfere with the 2016 election for president of the United States, in violation of United States law," as well as whether he "committed a crime or crimes arising out of payments he received from the Ukrainian government before and during the tenure of President Viktor Yanukovych." Manafort's suit claiming that the Mueller investigation exceeded its investigative authority was dismissed on April 27, 2018. On June 26, 2018, after harshly criticizing the scope of the Mueller investigation the preceding month, Ellis issued an opinion stating that the Mueller investigation had acted within its authority, clearing the way for Manafort's trial to proceed.
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