Manafort Trial: Mueller Brings in FBI, IRS as the Case Nears the Finish Line

[babylonsister]

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/manafort-fbi-709341/

Manafort Trial: Mueller Brings in FBI, IRS as the Case Nears the Finish Line

Beyond the drama of Rick Gates’ testimony, the numbers tell the real story
By Andy Kroll

snip//

But if Gates’ testimony left any doubt about the strength of Mueller’s case — namely, that Manafort committed numerous counts of bank fraud and tax evasion when he hid money from the U.S. government that he earned overseas — the afternoon’s proceedings served as a corrective. Over several hours, Mueller’s team called as witnesses an FBI forensic accountant and an IRS agent who walked the jury through the dry-but-damning details of Manafort’s alleged financial crimes.

Morgan Magionos, the FBI forensic accountant, explained how she had traced more than $60 million that moved through Manafort’s accounts in Cyprus, the U.K. and St. Vincent and the Grenadines between 2010 and 2014. She offered various charts to show how Manafort had used $15 million of those funds to purchase homes in New York and Virginia, in addition to luxury clothing, audio-visual equipment and to finance landscaping projects.

In matter-of-fact bluntness befitting his profession, IRS agent Michael Welch said Manafort had failed to report $16.4 million in income between 2010 to 2014. Manafort had also filed false tax returns for multiple years, Welch said, because he had failed to disclose his overseas bank accounts as required by law.

Unlike earlier in the day, there were no were no gasp-worthy moments in these testimonies. There were no fiery exchanges, no explosive quotes. The evidence of Manafort’s alleged crimes, as laid out by Magionos and Welch, was damning enough. And there was little Manafort’s defense lawyers could do to poke holes in that evidence.

One of Manafort’s lawyers, in his cross-examination, gained little traction raising questions about the authenticity of the financial records used by Magionos — records provided to the FBI by the banks themselves. When cross-examining Welch, another Manafort lawyer questioned whether his client would have been able to apply for a so-called embezzlement deduction had he known that Gates was stealing funds from him. Welch kneecapped that line of questioning when he pointed out that Manafort would have had to report the income on his taxes in the first place to apply for that embezzlement deduction.

Salacious details aside, United States of America v. Paul Manafort is a case about alleged bank fraud and tax evasion. For all the spectacle of Gates’ testimony, Mueller’s case boils down to whether he and his team can prove that Manafort hid money from the government and lied on his taxes. The prosecutors showed on Day 7 how strong of a case they have in convincing 12 random Virginians of Manafort’s alleged crimes. They plan to call a half-dozen more witnesses.

[AlexSFCA]

1. will we see life in prison w/o parole?

that’s what I care about. The results. Obviously he is a huge flight risk.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

5. I doubt "Life w/o parole" but his flight riskiness may keep him out of a club fed

I could see him ending up someplace like Cumberland or Allenwood - medium security, but with an adjacent minimum security that could be dangled as a carrot. Still close enough for the family to visit.

[WhiteTara]

11. Let's see, his daughter can't stand him

and his wife -- well, if I were her, I probably wouldn't visit often no matter how close or far.

[Mc Mike]

2. Bring in ATF, US Marshalls, Customs, the Shore Patrol, the Coast Guard, too.

I'm pretty sure there isn't any agency's jusrisdiction he hasn't transgressed criminally.

[UTUSN]

3. lordy lordy, give me hope!1

[babylonsister]

4. He is not walking. nt

[Hekate]

6. Wow. I hope there is no pardon, because of Trump being gone. SMH

[KelleyKramer]

7. Sounds like Manafort is toast

His lawyer said he should get a discount because some of the money he hid was stolen ... that's about as desperate as you can get

[Scurrilous]

8. K&R

[rownesheck]

9. I hate everyone in trump's circle

but i would be fine with everyone getting off with just a slap on the wrist as long as trump, pence, and Stephen Miller got life in a maximum security prison. Then, i would make with some Kool and the Gang!

[phylny]

10. Please throw in McConnell or Ryan.

Or both.