Rick Gates, Paul Manafort's longtime associate and deputy on the Trump campaign, took the stand Monday and admitted to a litany of illegal activity in cooperation with his boss and, in some cases, against his boss.
5:47 p.m.: Gates testifies he moved money from offshore accounts
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Gates said the operatives in Ukraine paid Manafort millions of dollars for political and policy work by wiring money from their companies in Cyprus to Manafort’s unreported foreign bank account in Cyprus.
At times, Gates testified that Manafort would move money from Cyprus to his U.S. accounts.
When Gates said Manafort was moving money from Cyprus, he said he was talking not about “shell companies” but “shelf companies” — as in, off-the-shelf, premade for someone to take over.
“They’re already on the shelf,” he explained.
Gates acknowledged under questioning by Andres on Monday afternoon that he has a powerful incentive to cooperate with prosecutors. If the government determines that Gates’s assistance in their case against Manafort is “substantial,” he could avoid jail time.
5:26 p.m.: Gates admits to long list of wrongdoing
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Manafort has sat stoically through the testimony, staring at his former business partner who is key to prosecutors case. Gates, though, did not say exclusively bad things about his former boss. At one point, testifying about the work the two men did in Ukraine, Gates said of Manafort,
“He’s probably one of the most politically brilliant strategists I’ve ever worked with.” Manafort did not noticeably react.
4:56 p.m. Gates admits he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort
While helping him commit crimes, Rick Gates admits he also embezzled from his boss, something Paul Manafort’s defense attorneys have said repeatedly throughout the trial.
Gates said he had authority on some of Manafort’s Cyprus accounts, which were set up by a law firm in that country. “I added money to expense reports and created expense reports” that were not accurate, he said, to pad his salary by “several hundred thousand” dollars.
He said he had embezzled from other employers as well and that he volunteered this information in his meetings with the government.
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4:52 p.m. Gates testifies he and Manafort knowingly did not report foreign bank accounts
Presented with a copy of the plea agreement he signed in federal court in Washington, Gates said he conspired with Manafort to falsify Manafort’s tax returns. Gates said he and Manafort knowingly failed to report foreign bank accounts and had failed to register Manafort as a foreign agent.
4:38 p.m.: Rick Gates testifies he committed crimes with Manafort
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“Did you commit crimes with Mr. Manafort?” the prosecutor asked.
“Yes,” Gates responded.
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Mr. Gates admitted to a wide variety of crimes, including bank fraud, tax fraud, money laundering, lying to federal authorities, lying in a court deposition and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Mr. Manafort’s accounts by falsely claiming expenses.
While giving testimony, Mr. Gates was grim and sober-faced, frequently looking down or straight ahead — but never looking at Mr. Manafort. Mr. Manafort stared back at Mr. Gates.
The outcome of the closely watched trial, now in its second week, could hinge on whether the jury believes the testimony from Mr. Gates, 46, who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and lying to federal authorities and faces a prison term of up to six years.
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Mr. Manafort was Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman, but resigned from the campaign in August 2016 after just five months. Mr. Gates, the deputy chairman, remained on the campaign as a liaison to the Republican National Committee through the election. Mr. Gates was named deputy chairman of Mr. Trump’s inaugural campaign, raising huge sums for the event.
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Mr. Gates and Mr. Manafort were so close that some witnesses referred to them in one breath, almost as if they were one person. Now Mr. Gates’s testimony could help decide whether Mr. Manafort, 69, spends what could be the rest of his life in prison. The most serious of the 18 charges he faces carries a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Mr. Manafort’s attorneys hope to show that Mr. Gates stole millions of dollars from Mr. Manafort and now is blaming him for financial crimes he himself committed. Mr. Manafort’s biggest mistake, they have told the jury, is that he trusted Mr. Gates to handle his finances because he was too busy running his political consulting firm.
Related: Manafort Trial: Day Five
Paul Manafort trial Day 5: Rick Gates testifies he committed crimes with Manafort (WaPo)
Rick Gates Testifies He Committed Crimes With Paul Manafort (NYT)