Federal prosecutors clashed with defense attorneys Tuesday over rival portraits of Paul Manafort, who the government asserted built a fortune on a foundation of “lies.” The former Trump campaign chairman’s attorneys said their client had simply placed his “trust in the wrong person,” USA Today reports. Manafort attorney Thomas Zehnle pointed the finger at the government’s star witness and former Manafort business partner, Rick Gates, who was described as the source of virtually all of Manafort’s trouble. “This case is about taxes and trust,” Zehnle said of the bank and tax fraud case against his client. “This is about Mr. Manafort placing his trust in the wrong person.”
Gates pleaded guilty this year to conspiracy and lying to the FBI. As part of his deal with the government, he agreed to cooperate with investigators. He headlines a list of 35 potential witnesses against Manafort. Zehnle asked Manafort to stand before the jury, describing him as once representing the “pinnacle” of American politics – a consultant to “presidents and senators.” He did not mention President Trump. Prosecutors presented a blistering account of Manafort’s business dealings, alleging that he used a web of deceit and secret bank accounts to acquire tens of millions in income for his consulting work in Ukraine for more than a decade, between 2005 and 2014. Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye claimed that Manafort propped up a “lifestyle of extravagance” by falsifying applications for millions of dollars in loans. When Manafort’s work for the pro-Russian leadership faction in Ukraine began to dry up in 2015, Asonye asserted, Manafort sought bank loans using falsified loan applications, creating “cash out of thin air.” A jury of six men and six women, along with four alternates, was selected in less than four hours. On day two of the trial, the court will hear from two more witnesses for the prosecution; Democratic political consultant Daniel Rabin, who helped Manafort produce political ads in Ukraine in 2012, and an FBI agent.