Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been found guilty of eight criminal counts.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis found Manafort guilty of eight criminal counts which include five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failing to file foreign bank account reports. These findings come under special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
According to CNBC, Mueller’s prosecutors called 27 witnesses to testify against Manafort. In addition, Mueller’s legal team submitted more than 350 exhibits. On the opposing side, Manafort had no witnesses and presented 12 pieces of evidence. One of Mueller’s witnesses was Manafort’s former business partner, #RickGates, who also had worked on #DonaldTrump’s presidential campaign. It only took four days for the jury to deliberate their verdict.
For now, there are 10 remaining counts in the bank fraud and tax crimes trial; the judge and jurors have yet to come to an agreement on, which led to Ellis declaring a mistrial on said counts. Earlier this year, Gates pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements. Gates has yet to be sentenced. If convicted Manafort faces up to 305 years in prison.
