Manafort's top aide Rick Gates just gave some rather damning testimony

(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

published 6 August 2018

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's federal trial continued Monday, with an appearance from star witness Rick Gates, reports Politico.

Gates, a longtime Manafort associate, took the stand to testify against his former colleague, who is accused of bank and tax fraud. Gates pleaded guilty in February to felony charges of conspiracy and lying to the FBI, and he is now cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller as investigators probe the Trump campaign's role in Russian election interference. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Gates testified that he was "involved in criminal activity with Mr. Manafort," and said that the two committed crimes together, MSNBC reported. He additionally said that he and Manafort had 15 foreign bank accounts that they did not report to the federal government, knowing it was illegal. They omitted the accounts from legal documents "at Mr. Manafort's direction," he reportedly testified. Gates also admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort, which the defense has used to argue that Manafort was merely victim to Gates' crimes.

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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.

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