“If there is a core Trump supporter on there, I think the presumption of innocence is going to be quadrupled in that person’s mind,” Dressler said, referring to the jury. “It’s going to be very hard to convince them to vote on the side of the prosecutor, and thus creating the possibility of a hung jury on any of the crucial counts.”
The criminal trial against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is moving at breakneck speed, compared with most federal court proceedings, with prosecutors calling more than a dozen witnesses to the stand since the case got underway on Tuesday.
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team of attorneys has been presenting evidence as they attempt to prove to jurors that Manafort concealed from the IRS money he received while working as a lobbyist and political consultant for pro-Russia Ukrainian officials, and that he committed bank fraud when those funds dried up.
Manafort’s attorneys, meanwhile, made clear in their opening statement that they’ll be focusing on Richard Gates, the longtime business associate of Manafort who they say was the one in charge of financial record-keeping.
More @ The Hill
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