Manafort first Trump aide to face trial in Mueller probe

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Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort will on Tuesday become the first member of the president's election team to face trial on charges stemming from the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 vote.

Manafort, a veteran Republican political consultant, served as chairman of Trump's presidential election campaign for three months in 2016 before being forced to step down amid questions about his lobbying work in Ukraine.

He has spent the past month in prison in Alexandria outside Washington after having his house arrest and 10 million US dollar bail revoked by a federal judge for allegedly tampering with witnesses in another pending case.

What is Manafort accused of?

Manafort has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of bank and tax fraud related to his lobbying activities on behalf of the former Russian-backed government of Ukraine.

The indictment was brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who is looking into Russian meddling in the presidential election, but the charges are not connected to Manafort's time as Trump's campaign chairman.

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's former campaign chief, in a booking photo on July 12, 2018, after his transfer to the Alexandria Detention Center in Alexandria, Virginia. /VCG Photo

The 69-year-old is charged with five counts of filing false tax returns for not reporting bank accounts he held in Cyprus and other countries in a bid to hide millions of dollars in income from activities on behalf of Ukraine's former leader Viktor Yanukovych.

On Monday, prosecutors said in court filings that they intended to prove Manafort earned more than 60 million US dollars lobbying for the former Ukrainian government and failed to report "a significant percentage" of that. His lawyers are seeking to exclude evidence at trial that details Manafort's political lobbying work in Ukraine.

Who are the witnesses?

Prosecutors plan to produce nearly three dozen witnesses during the trial, including Manafort's former associate Richard Gates, who is cooperating with the government after pleading guilty to lesser charges in February.

Five witnesses have been granted immunity from prosecution to testify against Manafort.

Paul Manafort, then campaign manager to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, talks on the phone from the floor of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, US, July 17, 2016. /VCG Photo

Mueller has indicted a total of 32 people so far in connection with his probe into whether any members of Trump's election campaign colluded with Russia to help get the New York real estate tycoon into the White House.

Trump has repeatedly denounced the special counsel's investigation as a politically motivated "witch hunt" and denied there was any collusion with Moscow to defeat Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

While Gates and others, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, have pleaded guilty, Manafort has refused to strike a deal and has insisted on having his day in court.

Does Manafort have a 'pardon' plan?

Legal experts said Manafort may be holding out hope of a presidential pardon.

Jonathan Turley, a professor of law at George Washington University, said the odds are stacked heavily against the former heavyweight political operative.

"This is an exceptionally difficult case for the defense," Turley told AFP. "To quote gamblers in Las Vegas, he has to run the table."

"Mueller only has to secure one conviction on one count to put Manafort away for as much as a decade," he said. "At 69, that must weigh heavily on his mind."

Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for Donald Trump, arrives at federal court in Washington, DC, US, June 15, 2018. /VCG Photo

Turley also said he believes "jurors are not likely to identify or empathize with Paul Manafort," whose lavish spending and lifestyle is outlined in court documents. "They're going to be seeing a guy who spent half a million dollars just on landscaping."

"On top of that," he added, "the government will bring forth the coup de grace" with incriminating testimony by Gates, Manafort's former business partner.

Turley said Manafort may be "playing a pardon strategy."

"Manafort has remained loyal," he said. "He may feel that he doesn't have much to lose in going to trial and preserving his chances for a pardon. If he cooperates with Mueller, a pardon is going to be substantially reduced in likelihood."

The trial in Virginia is expected to last about three weeks.

Manafort is also scheduled to go on trial in Washington in September on separate charges brought by Mueller of conspiracy, money laundering and failing to register as an agent of a foreign government.

(With input from agencies)

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