Donald Trump’s former campaign chief Paul Manafort was found guilty of fraud Tuesday, in the first trial resulting from the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
While the jury was unable to reach a verdict on 10 counts, prompting the judge to declare a partial mistrial, Manafort was found guilty on the eight remaining counts including tax fraud, bank fraud and failure to file foreign bank account reports.
The Alexandria, Virginia criminal trial was the first borne of charges lodged by special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. Manafort, 69, faces another federal trial in September in Washington, D.C., which also stems from the Russia probe.
The jury’s verdict arrived at nearly the same moment that Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to tax fraud and making an excessive campaign contribution
Among the prosecution’s witnesses was Manafort’s former business associate, Rick Gates, who also had worked on the presidential campaign of Donald Trump in 2016.
Gates pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy and making false statements. He has not yet been sentenced.
The charges against Manafort and Gates were connected to their consulting work for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine, and not to their work on the Trump campaign.
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