Paul Manafort’s turncoat deputy Rick Gates is accused of having at least FOUR affairs then lying about them to Mueller’s investigators – and stealing millions from his boss to fund them
Manafort’s attorneys tore into his former deputy at his fraud trial in Alexandria, VA, accusing him of lying to Robert Mueller’s investigators
Prosecutors objected when Gates was asked if he had at least four affairs – not just the one to which he admitted
Manafort’s defense attorney Kevin Downing accused Gates of funding his ‘secret life’ by stealing from the former Trump campaign chief
Manafort is on trial for tax and bank fraud charges which could see him jailed until he dies if he is fond guilty
By ALANA GOODMAN
DAILYMAIL.COM
8 August 2018
Paul Manafort’s defense team accused his former deputy Rick Gates of carrying on at least four extramarital affairs and then lying about it to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators, during a fiery exchange at Manafort’s tax and bank fraud trial on Wednesday.
Gates, 46, who has been cooperating with prosecutors as part of a plea deal, previously admitted on the stand to living ‘beyond his means’ and embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort, 69, while having an extramarital affair with a woman in London whom he gave an apartment.
But he also told the court that this affair was a ‘mistake’ that took place a decade ago and lasted only five months. Gates, a married father of four, said his wife is aware of the affair.
Gates said on Wednesday that he informed Manafort about the affair at the time and Manafort was supportive of him. Manafort did not fire Gates, who was his second-in-command at political consulting firm DMP International.
After Gates described his relationship as a mistake, Manafort’s attorney Kevin Downing asked Gates if he had disclosed to special counsel Mueller’s team that he actually had affairs with four different women.
Gates appeared momentarily stunned by the question, responding ‘Uhh…’ before prosecutors interrupted the exchange to object.
Downing told the judge that the question was necessary to establish whether Gates had lied to the special counsel’s office.
The judge called the attorneys to a private bench discussion, which was not audible to the audience or jury.
When the attorneys returned, Downing reframed his line of questioning and asked Gates if his ‘secret life’ had coincided with the timeframe of the charges he pleaded guilty to on conspiracy to commit bank and tax fraud.
‘I made many mistakes over many years and I regret them,’ responded Gates.
Gates repeated a lot of the same information from his testimony on prior days, discussing the numerous foreign bank accounts he said he helped set up at Manafort’s direction. He said he was also ordered by Manafort not to disclose these accounts to tax preparers.
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