The prosecution’s first witness was Tad Devine, a well-known Democratic strategist who worked for Manafort in Ukraine.
The prosecution used him to explain to the jury the ins and outs of how Manafort was running a team of consultants working for Ukraine’s Party of Regions, a political party that was backed by Russian-leaning oligarchs.
On cross examination, Manafort’s lawyers got Devine to make clear that he respects the work that Manafort did running campaigns in Ukraine.
Devine didn’t want to talk on his way out after his testimony, but he told NBC News this: “Paul deserves a fair trial, and I tried to assist in that.”
And that’s all for Day 1.
The prosecution’s Uzo Asonye also said Manafort paid his tax preparers $10,000 every year. They would ask him in writing if he had foreign bank accounts. “Every year he lied,” Asonye said. “Then he lied to the IRS,” thus falsifying his tax returns.
Asonye said Manafort funneled millions from foreign accounts to pay vendors in the U.S., including $21,000 for a watch and $15,000 for a jacket made from ostrich.
Asonye told the jury that Manafort hired a bookkeeper for $100,000 per year to pay his bills and prepare his financial statements, only to mislead her too.
Asonye called Manafort “shrewd,” bringing money into his accounts because he knew if he didn’t show any income, the government would get suspicious.
“Garbage in, garbage out,” Asonye said.
Asonye then turned to Manafort’s loans, saying the jury will see income falsely called loans — as his lenders were his shell companies in Cyprus — where no collateral was ever put down, no interest payments were required, and he never made a single loan payment.
When funds dried up from Manafort’s “golden goose,” former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, Asonye said, Manafort applied for tens of millions in loans. He said he lied about his income and debt to qualify for huge loans. In 2015, he declared his consulting firm, DMP, had zero income and zero profits.
Asonye summed up his statement saying that Manafort submitted multiple false loan apps and used his associates to commit fraud to keep his own hands clean.
Asonye closed his opening statement by saying he will show the jury that Manafort lied to his bookkeeper, lied to the IRS and lied to financial institutions — that he “orchestrated these crimes” and committed bank fraud.
U.S. assistant attorney Uzo Asonye presented the government’s opening statement to the jury, attempting to paint Manafort as someone who felt he was above the law, flagrantly spending money while illegally hiding his wealth overseas.
Asonye chronicled Manafort’s lavish lifestyle, from his expensive furnishings to his pricey clothes. Judge Ellis interjected by stating that having money is not a crime and suggesting that Asonye use the phrase “the evidence will show” as he laid out his argument.
Asonye took note and implemented the phrase generously, but observed that while it “isn’t a crime to have a lot of money,” it is a crime to not pay your taxes — which Manafort is accused of.
Asonye said evidence will show that Manafort knowingly filed false tax returns, lied to defend his income, and committed bank fraud, and that he lied about his property, his debts, his net worth, his income and where he was living to maintain his lifestyle.
Asonye said Manafort lied to the IRS from 2010-2014, ordered fake documents and had others produce them for him. Asonye said the government will present emails, showing people “springing to action” on Manafort’s behalf. He said the “evidence will show they all understood he was breaking the law.”
“The evidence will show he placed himself and his money above the law,” Asonye said.
In the defense’s opening statements, a Manafort lawyer told the jury that “He’s here because of one man: Rick Gates.”
The defense says Manafort placed his trust in Gates to handle the lobbying firm’s operational and financial matters. But, defense lawyer Thomas Zehnle said, Gates was “embezzling millions” from the firm and failing to report it on his taxes.
Zehnle said Manafort did not set up foreign bank accounts, but that it was done by the Ukrainians who employed him because they didn’t want it known which candidates they were supporting in Ukrainian elections.
Zehnle also said Manafort was never audited by the IRS, indicating that they never suggested any wrongdoing. And he said in 2014, Manafort was interviewed by the FBI and DOJ lawyers about his company’s work for Ukraine, and no charges ever came of it.
The prosecution’s opening statement told a story of greed and lies — and they said they had two dozen witnesses and hundreds of documents to prove it.
The defense sought to blame Manafort’s former business partner Rick Gates, portraying him as a star witness who cut a deal to save himself. They also argued that Manafort didn’t “willfully” cheat on his taxes — he relied on employees.
Manafort’s lawyer portrayed him as an esteemed political consultant who helped elect presidents, but no mention of Donald Trump.
Judge T.S. Ellis wasted no time selecting the jury — the process, which can sometimes weeks, was wrapped up in about four hours.
Of the 12 jurors, eight are white. There are six men and six women. There are four alternate jurors, three of which are women.
Prospective jurors who told the court that they knew people who worked for the Department of Justice were not seated.
Manafort seemed to play an active part in helping his defense select the jury. He wore reading glasses and pored over binders of documents with his counsel while they were selecting which prospective jurors to dismiss.
He wore a black, finely pinstriped suit. His hair is grayer today than when he was indicted earlier this year. He is wearing two devices that appear to be hearing aids.
The judge in Paul Manafort’s trial was preparing to begin jury selection as scheduled at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Judge T.S. Ellis declined to rule on a defense motion to limit the quantity of exhibits the government could use in laying out the nature of Manafort’s work for the Ukrainian government, though he indicated that Robert Mueller’s prosecutors should trim the number they plan to introduce. Manafort’s lawyers have said going into detail about the Ukrainian work could be unfairly prejudicial.
“I do not want a data dump into the record,” he said.
Most of today will be spent seating 12 jurors and 4 alternates out of a jury pool of roughly 70 people.
Jury selection could end today, though it may continue Wednesday morning.