UPDATE 4: Day 5 trial exhibits are here.
Testimony picks up again 9:30am ET Tuesday.
UPDATE 3: From The Washington Post:
Shortly after 4 p.m., Rick Gates, dressed in a blue suit, blue shirt and gold tie, walked down one aisle in the courtroom and took the witness stand, where he was questioned by prosecutor Greg Andres.
(...)
Andres’s early questions focused on the two men’s relationship. Gates testified that he met Manafort as an intern at a Christmas party at Manafort’s house, and he worked in the late 1990s at a political firm where Manafort was a partner, Black Manafort Stone and Kelly.
In 2006, Gates testified, he began working at Davis Manafort Partners and kept working there in 2012, when the firm became known as DMP International LLC.
Gates said his responsibilities increased over the years, but he considered himself merely “an employee of the firm,” and he believed Manafort thought of him the same way. He said the two men did not socialize outside of work, though they sometimes met about work at Manafort’s homes.
(...)
“Did you commit crimes with Mr. Manafort?” the prosecutor asked.
“Yes,” Gates responded.
Gates went on to acknowledge his plea agreement, and the parties soon conferred at the judge’s bench to discuss it. As they did so, Gates continued to stare ahead, not looking at Manafort. Manafort took a few notes.
From CNN's Jim Sciutto:
Gates' testimony continues here.
UPDATE 2: Gates takes the stand.
NPR:
Paul Manafort's former business partner, Rick Gates, took the witness stand on Monday for what may be the most critical testimony in Manafort's bank and tax fraud trial.
(...)
... Prosecutors were expected to ask Gates for an inside look at what they say was a scheme by Manafort to use offshore bank accounts, shell companies and wire transfers as to avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax bills.
But Manafort's defense team is expected to use Gates, too. Attorney Thomas Zehnle accused Gates of embezzling money from Manafort's consulting firm and said that Gates was now agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors to cover his tracks.
UPDATE: Paul Manafort's defense attorney, Kevin Downing, says Rick Gates is up next.
Downing's cross-examination of accountant Cindy LaPorta proceeded as expected.
In his early questioning of accountant Cindy Laporta on Monday, defense attorney Kevin Downing seemed to be trying to highlight two themes.
Paul Manafort’s finances were so complicated that sorting through them each year was a chore even for his accountants. And Rick Gates was deeply involved in the process.
(...)
Prosecutors have accused Manafort of deceiving banks about the status of his properties to help him get loans. But Downing sought to cast as mere mistakes what prosecutors view as intentional misrepresentations.
Under Downing’s questioning, Laporta also conceded that she “relied on Rick Gates’s facts” as to how each property was used.
The testimony is important because prosecutors must prove Manafort was knowingly deceiving banks and the IRS. If jurors are to conclude that Manafort was merely sloppy with his finances – Laporta testified she was often getting materials close to when filings were due – that could benefit his defense.
Week Two of the Paul Manafort trial will begin with the defense team's cross-examination of accountant Cynthia LaPorta who told the court Friday that she helped Manafort and his associate Rick Gates commit fraud.
Testifying under immunity, she was the first witness to admit she knew accounting maneuvers Manafort and Gates requested of her were wrong and could be crimes. One accounting trick saved Manafort $500,000 in taxes, she said.
(...)
Judge T.S. Ellis told Manafort’s lawyers on Friday they could dig into Laporta’s immunity agreement on cross. “You’re entitled to go into that in any detail you want to,” he said.
(...)
Laporta detailed multiple examples in which Manafort and Gates sought to doctor financial records, first in order to lower Manafort’s taxable income and then later to inflate his income so that he could get bank loans.
Some of the maneuvers were at the request of Gates, while others implicated Manafort, Laporta testified. In one instance Manafort’s signature was on a loan agreement created in 2015 and inappropriately backdated for the 2014 tax year, she said.
Similar to prior witnesses, Laporta testified that Gates and Manafort were in lockstep but that Manafort was in charge.
(...)
Laporta was one of five witnesses granted immunity for the trial. The other four include an insurance agent, two bankers who worked on mortgages for Manafort, and Conor O’Brien, a former assistant to Laporta at the accounting firm KWC.
Given the impact of Laporta’s testimony, it is now unlikely the prosecution will call O’Brien to the stand, according to a person close to the case. That could change if Laporta’s credibility is undermined on cross, the person said.
While taking some of the sting out of Laporta’s testimony could prove useful to the defense, the more important challenge will be undercutting Gates, who as part of his plea deal admitted to helping Manafort evade taxes and mislead banks to get him loans. Gates said he did so at Manafort’s direction.
Gates is expected to testify this week.
The Washington Post reports Gates could make an appearance as early as today.
With the trial scheduled to resume at 1 p.m., a representative from the special counsel’s office has just carted a stack of boxes into the courtroom. In a sign that prosecutors may plan to call Rick Gates to testify later today, two of the boxes are labeled “Gates.”
The courtroom is jam-packed, likely in anticipation of Gates’s testimony, with spectators having lined up for seats more than an hour in advance. Paul Manafort’s wife is again seated in the front row.
Follow live courtroom updates from The Washington Post here.
Accountant of ex-Trump aide Manafort faces cross exam after possibly damaging testimony (Reuters)
Paul Manafort trial Day 5: Prosecutors may call Rick Gates today (Washington Post)