Manafort Prosecutor Says Key Witness Might Not Testify

Trump followed up with a second tweet, seeking to distance himself from his one-time campaign chair.

"Paul Manafort worked for Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other highly prominent and respected political leaders," he said. "He worked for me for a very short time. Why didn't government tell me that he was under investigation. These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion - a Hoax!"

Later, the president tweeted, "Looking back on history, who was treated worse, Alfonse Capone, legendary mob boss, killer, and "Public Enemy Number One," or Paul Manafort, political operative & Reagan/Dole darling, now serving solitary confinement -- although convicted of nothing? Where is the Russian Collusion?"

Mikuska  was preceded on the stand by political consultant Daniel Rabin, a partner with the Rabin Strasberg media consultancy, who helped Manafort produce political ads for television in Ukraine in 2012.

Rabin’s name appears on a handful of the government’s exhibits including one foreign lobbying disclosure indicating Manafort paid Rabin Strasberg roughly $350,000 in 2012 for the firm’s services.

Like Tad Devine, who testified on Tuesday, Rabin worked as a consultant for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during the 2016 presidential election. Rabin’s firm had previously worked for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in 2014.

Under questioning from prosecutor Greg Andres, Rabin said he travelled between the Ukraine and the U.S. more than 40 times between 2006 and 2014 at Manafort’s behest.

Davis Manafort International reimbursed him for food and other travel expenses and frequently kept him on retainer, he said.

But Rabin went on to say is relationship with Manafort soured in 2014, when Manafort failed to pay him $31,000 for his firm’s assistance with a media campaign in Ukraine.

On cross examination, defense attorney Richard Westling asked Rabin if he “knew Paul Manafort to be a talented political consultant” or if he considered Manafort a “productive” client.

Rabin said he did, further telling Westling that in the years he worked with Manafort he was paid more than $100,000.

The day began with U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III telling prosecutors not to use the word "oligarch" to describe wealthy Ukrainians who paid millions to Manafort for his consulting work.

Ellis said he worried prosecutors would give jurors the idea that oligarchs are, by definition, criminals.

“I have some concern over whether the memos [that Rabin and others will refer to in their testimony] are submitted for the truth of the matter,” Ellis said to prosecutor Greg Andres.  “Both sides mention the term oligarch but an oligarch is despotic power exercised by a privileged few. In that definition, a principal in a high school could be considered an oligarch.

"The government is entitled to a fair trial. So is the defendant,” Ellis said.

“Soros would be an oligarch by these terms," the judge continued, referring to Democratic mega-donor George Soros. "So would the [Koch Brothers]. But we don’t call them oligarchs. Here we will refer to [those named as oligarchs at trial] as a person who helped run a campaign. Oligarch has a pejorative meaning.”

Prosecutor Greg Andres told Ellis that it wasn’t a matter of opinion to use the word, but that it was used only because that is exactly how witnesses had described figures like Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Yanukovych to investigators.

“These are the facts of the case,” Andres said.

Raising his voice, Ellis  replied: “No, It is not a fact. It is an opinion. Find another way to say it. And if you disagree, file a brief…We’re not going to try this case like he associated with despicable people and is therefore despicable. You don’t need the term oligarch. You can use the terms ‘he financed it.’”

Testimony will continue after the morning recess. Scheduled to testify are Maximillian Katzman, Daniel Opsut and Ronald Wall.

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