3 min ago
NOW: Rick Gates is on the stand
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz

Rick Gates — who was Manafort's right-hand man in their multimillion-dollar political consulting business and was also a deputy campaign manager for Trump — has taken the stand.

Gates is now telling the court about his admission that he committed crimes alongside Manafort, to which he pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the federal investigators.

Gates also spoke generally about how he worked for Manafort from 2006 until 2016.

"I believe Mr. Manafort viewed me as an employee of the firm," Gates said.
Even though he met Manafort more than two decades ago at a holiday party, they did not spend time together socially, he said.

Gates and Manafort have not yet made eye contact. Gates, in a yellow tie and navy suit, is clean-shaven for his first appearance in court since he pleaded guilty to charges in federal court in DC in February — at that time, he had grown a beard.