Donald Trump’s former presidential campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, will be going to trial for tax and bank fraud. Before working for Trump, the consultant earned an embarrassment of riches. Manafort was not just any fly-by-night business consultant. He was pulling down the huge bucks for a Russian-backed politician.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating Russia’s attack on the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He has also investigated whether Donald Trump’s campaign conspired with the Russians.
In Mueller’s latest filing, he said that the federal prosecutors would prove that Trump’s former chairman brought in over $60 and up to $75 million working for the Russian-backed politicians. Unfortunately, for Manafort, he laundered this money and did not pay taxes, either.
Then, all of a sudden not only did Manafort have no money — he was over $13 million in debt to a Russian oligarch. That was when he decided to go to work for the Trump campaign — for free.
Mueller’s investigation uncovered some revealing financial information, WGNO reported:
‘No “pay stubs” or “paychecks” reflect that income, rather, the invoices and bills submitted by various consultants provide proof on that issue. Accordingly, to prove that Manafort earned that much income, the government must be able to show the extent of the work that he performed for Ukraine.’
Manafort has been trying to get the court to exclude over 50 exhibits that Mueller wants in the trial. They pertain to the former Trump campaign manager’s Ukraine political consulting in the years between 2005 and 2014.
Those exhibits include emails, photos, and a memoranda relevant to the case.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
