Trump defends ex-aide Manafort as 'very good person'

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In a break with convention, President Donald Trump weighed in on a criminal trial as the jury considered a verdict on Friday, calling the tax and bank fraud case against Paul Manafort "very sad" and lauding his former campaign chairman as a "very good person."

A federal court jury in Alexandria, Virginia completed its second day of deliberations without reaching a verdict in the first trial stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 15-month-old investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 US election.

US District Judge T.S. Ellis, presiding over the case, said he personally had received threats related to the trial and was being protected by US marshals.

Defense attorneys Brian Ketcham, Kevin Downing, Richard Westling and Thomas Zehnle leave the US District Courthouse following the first day of jury deliberations in former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's trial, August 16, 2018. /VCG Photo

Ellis revealed the threats as he rejected a motion by a group of news organizations to make public the names of the jurors, saying he was concerned about their "peace and safety."

In remarks to reporters at the White House, Trump again called Mueller's investigation, which had cast a cloud over his presidency, a "rigged witch hunt," but sidestepped a question about whether he would issue a presidential pardon for Manafort.

View of the US District Courthouse /VCG Photo

"I think the whole Manafort trial is very sad, when you look at what's going on there. I think it's a very sad day for our country," Trump said.

"He worked for me for a very short period of time. But you know what? He happens to be a very good person. And I think it's very sad what they've done to Paul Manafort."

Trump made his comments while the jurors, mulling 18 criminal counts against Manafort, deliberated behind closed doors on Friday morning.

As president, Trump has the power to pardon Manafort on the federal charges. Asked by a reporter on Friday if he would pardon Manafort, Trump said, "I don't talk about that now."

Defense attorney Kevin Downing speaks outside the US District Courthouse following the first day of jury deliberations in former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's trial, August 16, 2018. /VCG Photo

The jurors are not sequestered but have been instructed not to watch news reports or talk to others about the case. Deliberations by the six women and six men in the jury were set to resume on Monday morning.

Prohibitions on jurors reading about a case they are deciding are difficult to enforce in the smartphone era, Cornell University criminal law professor Jens David Ohlin said.

The prosecution could request a mistrial, but such a maneuver was very unlikely, Ohlin said.

The jury sent a note on Thursday afternoon asking Ellis four questions including one about defining "reasonable doubt." In a criminal case, a jury must find a defendant guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt."

(Cover: US President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort departs US District Court after a hearing, October 30, 2017. /Reuters Photo)

Source(s): Reuters