Russia Probe Prosecutors Maintain Charges Against Paul Manafort

Virginia: Lawyers working with the Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is heading the Russia probe, on Wednesday maintained the charges filed initially against Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman for now-President Donald Trump, which could mean that he spends the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted on the 18 counts against him.

During the presentation of closing arguments in Paul Manafort’s trial in Alexandria, Virginia, Mueller’s team stuck to their narrative about the former campaign chief that they had presented during the trial lasting more than two weeks in federal court, Efe reported. “When you follow the trail of Paul Manafort’s money, it’s littered with lies,” special counsel prosecutor Greg Andres said in court, telling jurors that Manafort is “not above the law” and adding that “he lied to his tax preparers, he lied to his bookkeeper, because he wanted to hide that money and avoid paying taxes.”

Convictions on all counts, as investigators have attempted to prove in the court documents filed to date, could result in Paul Manafort spending the rest of his life behind bars. Paul Manafort will face his second trial starting September 17 within the context of the Russia probe in a Washington court, a case in which he has also pleaded not guilty. (IANS)