At the bank fraud trial for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his former associate, Rick Gates, who has cut a plea deal has testified that he committed crimes with Manafort. He told the court Monday that he and Manafort had over a dozen foreign accounts they did not report to the government, and they knew that this was illegal.
Manafort’s first trial enters its second week on Monday, and the most critical testimony yet is unfolding. Gates was called to the stand at 4:15 p.m. Monday.
Gates, who also served a senior role in Mr. Trump’s campaign, has been a key cooperator for special counsel Robert Mueller’s team after he cut a plea deal earlier this year. During that plea process, Gates admitted to two felony charges, but today is the first time he’s detailing those crimes face-to-face with his former boss and mentor. Gates is one of 35 potential witnesses prosecutors hope to call to the stand.
The trial, taking place in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, is the first of Mueller’s prosecutions to reach a jury. But lawyers have made no mention of Trump or possible campaign coordination with the Kremlin, the central question behind the special counsel’s investigation.
Last week, Manafort was accused of amassing “secret income” and falsifying tax returns and using fake loans to pay less in taxes, among other things.
