Manafort’s defense team is denied yet another motion.
If you’re a Manafort Trial Junkie, this makes a good read. There’s lots of interesting background information, for example, the pros and cons of calling Gates as a witness. Prosecutors have not yet announced whether or not they will call him. The judge ruled that the defense would be allowed to introduce Gates’ extramarital affair which first made news during his previous trial. This could prejudice the jury against him. Also, one of the jurors in that trial said that the jurors discounted Gates’ testimony – so prosecutors are faced with a tough call here.
And there’s this:
The charges do not relate to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and jurors are expected to only hear limited references to Manafort’s role in the campaign. Jackson is allowing prosecutors to mention that Manafort was campaign chairman in August 2016 when press reports, including articles by The Associated Press , called attention to his lobbying work on behalf of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the pro-Russian Party of Regions.
Prosecutors say Manafort’s campaign position is relevant to the case because in response to the press coverage, he and Gates developed a false cover story that was later the basis for false statements made to the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, unit.
So the judge has established that mentioning any allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia will be out of bounds in this trial. However, evidence of the following will be introduced:
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Manafort was Trump’s campaign chairman at a time he was also an unregistered lobbyist being paid by a foreign, pro-Russian political party and
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He and Gates lied about this in a cover-up attempt.
These two facts, in and of themselves are very telling, and they will be well documented in this trial. They will undoubtedly serve as a fitting and compelling introduction to future trials involving Russian collusion – and these may be just around the corner.