Rick Gates set to testify against Paul Manafort Monday

Source: CNBC

Kevin Breuninger | @KevinWilliamB
Published 29 Mins Ago Updated 1 Min Ago

Rick Gates, the star witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's fraud and conspiracy trial against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, will take the stand Monday to testify against his former business partner.

Gates pleaded guilty in February to lying to investigators and conspiracy against the United States, and agreed to work with Mueller as part of a plea deal. His potential sentence was drastically reduced, and the special counsel holds the power to petition the court to further reduce his sentencing time based on his cooperation.

Manafort has pleaded not guilty to the 18 criminal counts against him in the Virginia federal criminal case, as well as similar charges in a case set to go to trial in September in Washington district court. Mueller's team lodged charges against Manafort in both cases, though neither are directly related to the special counsel's ongoing probe of potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Gates follows more than a dozen witnesses brought in by the U.S. attorney to testify against Manafort. Prosecutors have highlighted dozens of invoices, email threads and financial statements to bolster their accusations that Manafort filed false tax returns and committed bank fraud to maintain his lavish spending habits.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/06/rick-gates-set-to-testify-against-paul-manafort-monday.html