Stephen Colbert began Tuesday's Late Show by wishing Special Counsel Robert Mueller a happy birthday. "Blow out the candles and make our wish," he said, wistfully. Mueller's team is "hammering" Paul Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairman, and "Manafort is getting buried on the witness stand" by his former partner and protege, Rick Gates, Colbert said, though Gates confessed some crimes of his own — committed both with and against Manafort. On Tuesday, Gates detailed how Manafort allegedly evaded paying taxes, used the phrase WTF, and apparently tried to reward $16 million in bank "loans" with a job as Trump's Army secretary.
But things got "real Law & Order-y" when Manafort's lawyer cross-examined Gates, getting him to admit to ... an extramarital affair 10 years ago, Colbert said. "Oh my God! That's all they've got on him? Our president has had multiple extramarital affairs — that's how he met two-thirds of his wives!" He went on to examine the continuing fallout from Trump's Russia meeting "tweetfession," Rudy Giuliani's cigarette-fueled Twitter feud with Fox News "moron" Jonah Goldberg, and Donald Trump Jr.'s strategically muted chat with Laura Ingraham.
As Manafort's longtime right-hand man, Gates "knows where the bodies are buried," and he's digging them up, Trevor Noah said on The Daily Show. "Every moment that Gates was on the stand, things just got worse and worse" for his ex-boss. "Manafort must have been so mad, but also at the same time so proud," he said. "Because on the one hand, Gates stole money from him, but on the other hand he clearly learned everything that Manafort taught him."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"So as it stands, Mueller seems to have a tight case, Manafort's partner in crime has turned on him," and the biggest outstanding question is: "Why isn't Manafort snitching on Trump?" Noah asked. "It turns out Manafort has a plan-afort." It involves a pardon. Watch below. Peter Weber
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in ZürichThe Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
