After jurors were dismissed, Judge T.S. Ellis scolded one of Mueller’s prosecutors and a 10-minute courtroom spat ensued.
Via Fox News: U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III specifically pushed Andres on why the prosecution was moving slowly with Rick Gates – the former Manafort business partner who testified on Monday – and specifically to describe the link between wealthy Ukrainian politicos and Manafort. Ellis argued that the connection was not the basis of the case.
“What matters are the allegations that he made money from them and didn’t report it,” Ellis said. “You don’t need to throw mud at these people.”
Ellis again compared the Ukrainians in question to American billionaires and “Mr. Koch and Mr. Soros” as political contributors.
“I don’t know why you keep bringing (up) these people,” Andres said, referring to the Ukrainians. “These people are not like any Americans. These people are oligarchs and that means they control a segment of the economy based on the governments allowing them to do that.”’
“These are not really political contributions,” he continued. “They are self-serving payments with respect to what oligarchs do.”
“That makes it even clearer to me that it doesn’t have anything to do with the allegations in this case,” Ellis responded. “It throws dirt on these people. They may deserve it. I don’t know – and I don’t care.”
At another point in the exchange Andres could be heard challenging Ellis on a technicality. “Respectively, judge, that is not what the law is,” Andres responded bluntly at one point.
The most heated moment of the debate, however, took place when Ellis got perturbed by Andres not looking up at him while speaking.
“Look at me! Don’t look down,” Ellis demanded.
Then, when Andres responded that he was looking at a relevant document, the exchange grew testier.
“You looked down as if to say ‘that’s B.S.!’” Ellis said. “I’m up here!”
[divider][/divider]Rick Gates, the star witness in the federal case against ex-Trump campaign adviser Paul Manafort, on Tuesday acknowledged having an extramarital relationship in London while working for Manafort as the defense accused him of leading a “secret” and “second” life.
For the last two days in court, Gates has testified that he and Manafort committed bank and tax fraud together.
But during cross-examination on Tuesday, the defense painted Gates as living a “secret life” in London and accused him of embezzling money from Manafort’s foreign accounts at center of the trial to indulge in an extramarital affair in the United Kingdom.“I’ve acknowledged there was a period where I had another relationship,” said Gates, who is married.
In an aggressive cross-examination on Tuesday, Manafort’s lead attorney, Kevin Downing, said to Gates: “You stole from Mr. Manafort.”
Downing accused Gates of lying on expense reports to make trips to London and around Europe. READ MORE:
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