Breaking via @TheTerminal, a first glimpse at the Manafort defense:
*MANAFORT'S LAWYER BLAMES RICK GATES FOR TAX CRIMES
*GATES ACCUSED BY MANAFORT'S LAWYER OF EMBEZZLING
*GATES HAD 'HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR,' DEFENSE LAWYER SAYS pic.twitter.com/UlRLUdQtuk
— David S. Joachim (@davidjoachim) July 31, 2018
Per TPM:
… The opening day of trial took off like a shot, with jury selection done by early afternoon, opening statements over in an hour and the first witness called and cross examined, all before 6 p.m. ET.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis made a point to move the proceedings along as quickly as possible, appearing frustrated with the lawyers if it seemed that they were taking too long…
During his testimony, Devine revealed that he earned $500,000 as part of a 2009 consulting agreement for his work on Viktor Yanukovych’s 2010 presidential run in Ukraine. Devine also revealed that he earned an additional $100,000 after Yanukovych won the election in 2010. Devine said that his firm was paid by Manafort’s company via wire transfer but that he was unsure whether it was from a foreign bank account…
Extremely comprehensive coverage at the link below:
The government just called its first witness of the Manafort trial: Tad Devine, who you probably know from his work with Bernie Sanders. We're still tracking developments live here. https://t.co/NdbTEqUqxq
— Matt Zapotosky (@mattzap) July 31, 2018
Tad Devine is currently describing the organization of Manafort's foreign political consulting operation, and how it included Manafort, Rick Gates and Konstantin Kilimnik. Prosecutors are questioning him, and the defense attorneys will have a chance to cross-examine him later.
— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) July 31, 2018
Paul better really hope they don't have rebuttal evidence that Manafort had anything to do with the rock-throwing mob Yanukovych's party organized against US Marines in 2006. https://t.co/3DllMyI3Xj
— zeddy (@Zeddary) July 31, 2018
Late Night Open Thread: Mueller Trial, Day OnePost + Comments (40)