Discussion: Manafort's Lawyers Allege Gates Lived A 'Secret Life'

Yeah, I’m wondering what case the defense will put on, and what the prosecution has for rebuttal evidence. Not all of the rebuttal case has to be disclosed (impeachment witnesses, for example). Given (a) the speed at which they brought the indictment, and (b) the defense is pinning their hopes on destroying Gates’ credibility, it would surprise me if the prosecutor had anything less than devastating proof.

If all the defense does is cross-examine Gates and the other wits before resting… Manafort is going to prison. There’s a line of people testifying that he approved everything. Gates doesn’t change that. And neither does the documentary proof.

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The new smash Broadway Hit: “The Secret Life of Rick Gates.”

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Yes. They were from Russia. Sables, I think.

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Well, if they do, we can be assured that they will not be witnesses attesting to Manafort’s, uh, sterling character.

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Good catch–The resemblance is uncanny:

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Been thinking about that myself.I am in no way someone with experience in these things, but if the defense is pulling this secret life b.s., then it makes me feel they have nothing really to hand their hat on. They would equally have to pull out something devastating to convince me Gate’s testimony as well as others is no longer useful. Basically, unless things change, I would be making arrangements for his family during his long absence if I were in his shoes.

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I see what you did there… :smiley:

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The defense doesn’t have to prove Manafort innocent. He is already presumed innocent until proven guilty. So the defense only needs to establish “reasonable doubt.” One such way is to character assassinate the star witness for the prosecution. Given all the other corroborating evidence in this case, tearing down Gates seems pretty weak as an overarching strategy, but they don’t really have anything else to go on since Manafort is such a cad.

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Judge is out of control, feeding right wing hopes and feeding frenzy:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/08/06/manafort-prosecutors-judge-ellis-engage-in-10-minute-courtroom-spat.html

What the FUCK is his personal stake in this?

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not having the case overturned on appeal due to judicial bias for the prosecution?

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Perhaps, yes. But in another thread recently, @dryheat suggested that prosecutors have a standard argument to support the use of criminals as witnesses:

EDIT: I found the original comment, and updated this post accordingly.

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Translation: “Occam’s Razor is a dull and rusty thing. Prove that you’re smart enough that you understand the massive conspiracy afoot here. You’re smart enough aren’t you? Or are you too dumb to see that Gates ran amok without Manafort knowing anything and then conspired with Mueller to go after Manafort in order to save himself by helping the Russia witch hunt?”

Because let’s face it…that’s the allure the conspiracy crap has for people like the Trumpbots and the disenfranchise, disaffected, disillusioned middle-of-the-road person who feels helpless and left behind and out of control and just doesn’t know who to trust anymore: it’s proof to THEMSELVES that they’re not being fooled and a way of convincing themselves that they maintain some modicum of control over everything because they’ve “figured it out” and “nobody’s fooling me”. That’s the ploy at work here.

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I read today that Fox News wants nothing to do with Gorka these days. He was a cheerleader for Trump, but didn’t provide anything worthwhile. Oh, wait.

When Fox doesn’t want you anymore…

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He’s just cranky. if he was trying to throw the trial he would have thrown his fit in front of the jury.

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Hmm. Wasn’t there some saying about being known by the company you keep? These two were tight for many years. Hard to believe that they didn’t chat about creative ways to hide income from the IRS. Also hard to believe Gates set up all the accounts testified to in order to benefit Manafort out of the goodness of his heart without letting him know. I can see it now: Surprise! I just illegally funneled your money to an off-shore account. Merry Christmas!

Manafort will have a hard time disconnecting from Gates and I can imagine jury finding the efforts to discredit Gates cheap finger pointing.

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Ooooh! A “secret life”! Is it Glen or Glenda? That will change EVERYTHING.

Said no one.

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Your question can’t be serious. The defense is that Gates was the bad actor who duped Manifort. If the scheme gave Manifort 100 time’s more tax free money than Gates got, that destroys Manifort’s defense. And you show that by showing the jury what each man got from the scheme - i.e., showing the jury details of Gates’ lifestyle, spending, financial situation …

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Objection. Assumes facts not in evidence.

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Downing also mentioned allegations of insider trading, and discussed Gates’ relationship with film producer Steven Brown, who is accused of engaging in a scheme to defraud investors in D-list films.

Wait. There’s a D-list? I truly wasn’t aware. How far down does this list go? Where would Atlas Shrugged and Dinesh D’Souza’s piece of crap be listed? F-list? Lower? This trial is teaching me something important .who knew?

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This is where your objection would come in: ‘Downing asked Gates if he used money from Manafort’s business to pay for flights and fancy dinners, and to “fund your separate secret life.” Downing mentioned that Gates was maintaining an apartment in London.’

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