Manafort Defense Closes Gates Cross With ‘Truth’

“No,” Gates said.

“Did Mr. Manafort ever confront you [about the embezzling]?” Andres said.

Again Gates responded, “No.”

Finally on redirect, Andres beat back Downing’s suggestion during cross-examination that Gates had withheld information about foreign bank registration and kept Manafort in the dark over what his own accountants suggested.

“If you give false information to a tax preparer,” Andres asked, “can you expect sound advice?”

Gates said no.

After Gates forcefully confirmed to Andres he understood that if he lied during his testimony the government would “rip up” his plea agreement, Downing used his brief re-cross-examination to dig into the witness’s “secret life,” a euphemism the Manafort attorney has used to refer to Gates’ extramarital affair.

Gates admitted Tuesday to having one affair, testifying that it lasted only a few months.

But Downing pressed Gates on whether he actually told the Office of Special Counsel during interviews that he had four affairs. Gates never was able to answer, however, as Andres immediately objected to the question.

Andres said the question was irrelevant, but Downing disagreed because of the focus Andres has placed on the consequences Gates would face if he lied during his testimony.

The attorneys went into a lengthy sidebar with U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, and Downing did not return to the question afterwards.

Gates has now finished his roughly six hours on the stand.

Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller had initially indicted Gates with Manafort, but Gates has been cooperating with the government after pleading guilty in February this year to providing false statements. Downing’s combative style seemed to rattle Gates, as the witness admitted to past lies and said there were “instances where [he] struggled in interviews” with the special counsel.

Gates faced several embarrassing revelations on cross-examination meant to stain his character, including details of extramarital affairs, references to his “secret life,” and embezzlement allegations.

To follow Gates, the prosecution has called Morgan Magionos, a forensic accountant from the FBI. Before she could take the stand, however, Judge Ellis, Manafort’s attorneys and prosecutors argued about the scope of evidence that should be allowed into the trial through her testimony.

Ellis, who has been focused on shortening the length of the already week-long trial, urged Andres to condense the testimony about Manafort’s payments from foreign accounts as much as possible. Specifically at issue is the prosecution’s plan to use charts to illustrate how Manafort allegedly paid for goods and services in the U.S. using money from his foreign accounts.

Richard Westling, who represents Manafort, said some of the charts are appropriate, but indicated he plans to object to others that he said retrace ground already covered by earlier witnesses.

Andres assured Ellis he is planning to move thorough the evidence in an “expeditious” fashion, but said the government needs to show the jury there is no doubt about the path the money took from Manafort’s offshore accounts into the United States.

Ellis did not definitively resolve the issue of the charts before the jury returned from a break Wednesday afternoon, but nevertheless urged Andres to move the trial along as much as possible.

“Judges should be patient. They made a mistake when they confirmed me,” Ellis said.

Prosecutors still have a handful of witnesses to call before they rest their case. Several tax preparers granted use immunity by the special counsel could be on deck to appear.

This story is developing…

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