The Latest: Dem: White House LooksLlike Criminal Enterprise
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. (AP) — The Latest on the Paul Manafort trial (all times local):
5:35 p.m.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut says the White House “looks increasingly like a criminal enterprise” after the convictions of President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
Blumenthal said Tuesday that the verdicts show the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller is “not a witch hunt or hoax” as Trump has claimed. He says Mueller’s team will continue following the facts as the investigation “circles ever closer to the Oval Office.”
Blumenthal says any talk of a pardon for Manafort or Cohen “should end now,” calling it an abuse of power and possible obstruction of justice.
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont says a Manafort pardon would create a backlash in Congress and “have Watergate written all over it.”
5:30 p.m.
A lawyer for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort says his client is disappointed in his conviction and is evaluating all his options.
Attorney Kevin Downing spoke to reporters Tuesday outside the federal courthouse where a jury convicted Manafort of eight financial crimes.
A judge declared a mistrial on 10 other counts the jury could not reach consensus on.
Downing also said Manafort wanted to thank the judge for a fair trial and the jury for their four days of deliberations.
Manafort stared intently at the panel as the clerk read off the charges. He stared down blankly at the defense table, then looked up, expressionless, as the judge finished thanking the jury.
The outcome of the trial almost certainly guarantees years of prison for Manafort.
5:25 p.m.
The ranking Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees say the conviction of Paul Manafort and the guilty plea by Michael Cohen make it clear that President Donald Trump is wrong when he says special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe is a “witch hunt.”
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said Tuesday that any attempt by Trump to pardon Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, or interfere in the Russia investigation would be a “gross abuse of power and require immediate action by Congress.”
Rep. Adam Schiff of California says Manafort’s conviction on eight financial crime charges and former Trump lawyer Cohen’s guilty plea to campaign-finance violations and other charges proves the Trump campaign embraced individuals with a history of dishonest business dealings as well as concerning ties to overseas interests.
5:10 p.m.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been found guilty of five counts of filing false income tax returns, one count of failing to file a report of a foreign bank account in 2012 and two charges of bank fraud.
The jury couldn’t reach a verdict on 10 counts — three regarding his failing to file reports of foreign bank accounts and the rest of the bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy charges.
No sentencing date has been set. Prosecutors have until Aug. 29 to decide whether they will seek a retrial on the 10 counts where the jury hung.
5:05 p.m.
Paul Manafort stood grim and stone-faced as a court clerk read eight guilty counts against him at the former Trump campaign chairman’s tax and bank fraud trial.
Manafort had his hands clasped in front of him and showed no visible change of expression as the first guilty count was read. When the jury finished, he sat down with his defense lawyers and stared blankly at the defense table.
He remained expressionless even as his lawyers smiled during a brief discussion after the verdict in which Judge T.S. Ellis III complimented the lawyers and joked about the attention the trial has received.
After the hearing concluded, prosecutors and defense lawyers had no initial comment. Special counsel spokesman Peter Carr said there would be no comment from special counsel Robert Mueller’s office.
4:50 p.m.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort stared intently at the jury as the clerk read off the counts finding him guilty of eight financial crime charges.
Manafort was found guilty Tuesday in the first trial victory for special counsel Robert Mueller’s team. The judge declared a mistrial on 10 other counts after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
Clad in a dark suit and powder-blue tie, Manafort stood with his hands clasped before him.
As U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III thanked the jury for its service, Manafort stared down blankly at the defense table, then looked up, expressionless, as the judge finished.
The jury deliberated for four days.
4:40 p.m.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been found guilty of eight financial crime charges in the first trial victory for special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.
A judge declared a mistrial on 10 other counts after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
The jury deliberated for four days before announcing the verdict at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia.
Prosecutors spent more than two weeks presenting their case as they sought to prove Manafort concealed millions of dollars in offshore accounts from the IRS.
4:25 p.m.
The jury in the financial fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort says it’s reached a verdict on eight counts but is undecided on the remaining 10.
Jurors made that announcement in a note Tuesday afternoon to the federal jury overseeing the trial.
The jury is in its fourth day of deliberations and had signaled earlier in the day that it was stuck on at least one count.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III encouraged jurors to continue deliberations, and suggested he was not ready to consider a partial verdict.
4:15 p.m.
The jury in the Paul Manafort financial fraud trial has submitted a new note to the judge.
That’s according to the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, whose office is prosecuting the former Trump campaign chairman.
The jury earlier Tuesday suggested it was stuck on at least one of the 18 counts against Manafort. Jurors asked what they should do if they could not agree on one of the counts in the indictment.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III encouraged the panel to continue deliberating.
This is the fourth day of deliberations for the federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia.
11:45 a.m.
The jury in the financial fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort wants to know what to do if it cannot reach a consensus for a single count in the case.
Jurors posed the question to U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III on their fourth day of deliberations. They also said they would need a new verdict form.
Prosecutors say Manafort hid tens of millions of dollars in foreign income from Ukraine. They also say he lied on loan applications to obtain millions more to maintain a lavish lifestyle.
Manafort’s attorneys called no witnesses, arguing prosecutors failed to meet their burden of proof.
The trial is the first courtroom test of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, though the case doesn’t involve allegations of Russian election interference.
9:50 a.m.
The jury in the fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has begun its fourth day of deliberations.
Judge T.S. Ellis III sent the jury back to resume deliberating Tuesday shortly after 9:30 a.m.
Jurors deliberated past 6 p.m. Monday without submitting notes or questions.
The trial of Manafort is now in its fourth week. Prosecutors say Manafort hid tens of millions of dollars in foreign income from Ukraine. They also say he lied on loan applications to obtain millions more to maintain a lavish lifestyle.
Manafort’s attorneys called no witnesses in his defense, arguing the prosecution failed to meet its burden of proof.
The trial is the first courtroom test of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, though the case doesn’t involve allegations of Russian election interference.
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