Jury selection begins today in Virginia federal court for the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, on bank and tax fraud charges unrelated to his time with the campaign.
The trial will focus on how Manafort handled the money he earned as a consulate in Ukraine. What’s likely to be missing, are any answers about whether or not the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election.
Prosecutors have lined up 35 witnesses and more than 500 pieces of evidence in the case. Paul Manafort will appear for the first trial arising from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Manafort is accused of concealing tens of millions of dollars in income from the IRS and fraudulently obtaining millions more in bank loans.
The trial will give the public the most detailed glimpse yet into a part of the Mueller investigation. It also comes as President Trump and his lawyers have dialed up the intensity in their attacks on Mueller.
This is the first of two trials for Manafort. The second trial, scheduled for September in the District of Columbia, involves allegations that he acted as an unregistered foreign agent for Ukrainian interests.
