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2018-08-08 12:36:04
By Laura Tucker, Staff writer; Image: Rick Gates and others leaving the courthouse (Image source: Screenshot)
Throughout Rick Gates testimony at Paul Manafort's trial, one thing is sure: neither one of these men led an honorable life. Another thing that is very clear is why Gates took a plea deal. And if prosecutors were willing to let him do that, they must have much more on Manafort.
While prosecutors so far have been setting it up that Gates took all his orders from Manafort, and the defense has been declaring that Manafort was following his protege's lead, Gates admitted on the witness stand that he had an affair and that it's "possible" he stole from Donald Trump's inauguration committee.
Manafort was Trump's former campaign chairman for a few months in the summer of 2016. He has enough charges against him for two trials, with this first one in Alexandria, Virginia, focusing on bank and tax fraud.
Defense attorney Kevin Downing asked Gates, "There was another Richard Gates, isn't that right? A secret Richard Gates?" Gates quietly admitted to having "another relationship" about 10 years ago.
He admitted that the affair took place in London and other places and that he kept a separate apartment in London for a few months. He flew first class and stayed in luxury hotels during that time to support his affair.
Gates was also forced to admit he embezzled from Manafort. Downing suggested it was as much as $3 million, but Gates thought it was less, admitting to lifting hundreds of thousands of dollars from his boss.
The witness thought when all was said and done, though, that he had chosen a better path than the defendant, as he'd chosen to cooperate with the investigation.
"After all the lies you've told and fraud you've committed, you expect this jury to believe you?" asked Downing. Gates replied he did, adding, "I'm here to tell the truth. Mr. Manafort had the same path." Later he admitted, "I'm trying to change."
Despite his admissions, Gates had a difficult time saying he embezzled, calling it "an unauthorized transaction," then being forced by Downing to refer to it as "embezzlement."
U.S. District Judge T. S. Ellis III continued to add his witticisms from the bench. When Gates explained that Manafort was "very good at knowing where the money was and where it was going," Ellis jumped in and said, "He didn't know about the money you were stealing, so he didn't do it that closely."
At one point (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/08/manafort-trial-judge-asks-if-prosecutor-is-crying.html)he even claimed he was making prosecutor Greg Andres cry. "I understand how frustrated you are," said the judge. "In fact, there's tears in your eyes right now." Andres claimed they were no tears, and Ellis retorted, "Well, they're watery."
Presented with a document of transfers from Cypriot accounts where Manafort held his money, Gates acknowledged it included "unauthorized transfers" but wasn't able to say which ones. Downey claimed the witness's memory was much clearer when he was being asked questions by the prosecution.
Downing suggested Gates pilfered the money to go to Vegas, buy sound equipment, and shop at a Richmond, Virginia, Whole Foods store. Gates admitted spending the company's money on these things but said it wasn't from the Cypriot accounts and that the Las Vegas trips were for a movie production venture and not just for fun.
Gates even admitted he may have stolen money from the Trump inaugural committee as well. He was asked if he submitted personal expenses for reimbursement and replied that it was "possible."
Downing was able to trip Gates up several times when switching from one claim to the next, but the witness did admit to the court that he was, "in essence, living beyond my means."
While they are keeping Trump and his campaign and administration out of the trial as much as possible, prosecutor Greg Andres introduced emails to show Manafort wanted Gates to use his position in Trump's campaign to get Stephen Calk, the founder and CEO of Federal Savings Bank, a bank Manafort held a loan in, a position in the administration.
Calk's name was added to a list of national economic advisers to the campaign. In November 2016 Manafort wrote to Gates, "We need to discuss Steve Calk for Sec[retary] of the Army. I hear the list is being considered this weekend."
The following month he sent an email marked "urgent" to Gates. It was a list of people he wanted invited to the inauguration. Calk and his son were on the list.
Another email showed what Manafort may have to pay in taxes, and he commented, "WTF." Gates testified that to lower that amount they lied and claimed that $900,000 in income that he'd received was actually a loan.
He also testified that the defendant falsified a 2016 profit statement for the company to get a loan. The original showed a $600,000 loss during the time he was Trump's campaign chairman and was not being paid. But the statement he sent showed a profit of about $3 million.
Gates is expected to return to the stand on Wednesday.
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