The prosecution\u2019s star witness finally wrapped up his testimony.<\/b>
\nRick Gates, the prosecution\u2019s star witness in the government\u2019s case against Paul Manafort, faced days of questioning on the witness stand. Special counsel Robert Mueller\u2019s attorneys got Gates to testify that he, along with Manafort, knowingly committed crimes. Manafort\u2019s defense, meanwhile, battered Gates with questions, trying to rip apart his credibility.
It\u2019s ultimately up to the jury to decide whom to believe, but the back-and-forth over Gates hints at the big upside, and downside, of cooperating witnesses \u2014 a witness or potential defendant in a case who \u201cflips\u201d and makes a plea deal with prosecutors. In exchange for working with prosecutors, they often get a lighter sentence.
Cooperating witnesses is a big issue in Mueller\u2019s investigation. There was speculation that Mueller\u2019s case against Manafort for financial crimes was an attempt to pressure him to flip on the Trump campaign and spill about efforts to collude with Russia. Mueller, in addition to Gates, has flipped two other ex-Trump aides \u2014 former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign aide George Papadopoulos.
Gates may be the prosecution\u2019s star witness, but the case doesn\u2019t just rest on him. Prosecutors have presented a slew of additional evidence to detail Manafort\u2019s transgressions, including testimony from other witnesses to show that Manafort was attempting to hide his foreign accounts and avoid paying taxes in the US.
Prosecutors spent last week calling accountants who testified that Manafort paid for his lavish lifestyle through transfers from overseas accounts, reports NPR. After Gates testified, prosecutors called an FBI forensic accountant who spoke on how the FBI connected foreign accounts with Manafort, including by noting the fact that his name or passport was listed on some of them. The accountant also testified about invoices that show Manafort\u2019s overseas money being used for expensive purchases, reports the Washington Post. She is reportedly one of 20 more witnesses the prosecution plans to call.
But Gates, who says that he committed these crimes alongside Manafort, gives the prosecution the insider\u2019s account \u2014 the person who can attest to how and why they broke the law. As former federal prosecutor Daniel Braun explained to Vox last week, prosecutors will often make the case to the jury that if they want to understand how a criminal enterprise or scheme worked, they have to hear the account of someone who participated in it.
\u201cThe most important factor in making that decision tends to be the strength of the corroborating evidence that you can offer alongside that witness\u2019s testimony,\u201d Braun said . \u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine a situation in which a prosecutor would present the uncorroborated testimony of a cooperating witness and expect that to be accepted as proof beyond a reasonable doubt by a unanimous jury.\u201d
Manafort\u2019s defense is dependent on proving Gates is unreliable and untruthful. As Vox\u2019s Andrew Prokop explained during Gates\u2019s first day of cross-examination: \u201cDefense attorney Kevin Downing got Gates to admit on the stand to all sorts of shady behavior: lying to Mueller\u2019s investigators before his plea deal, having an extramarital affair, embezzling money from Manafort, and trying to get Donald Trump\u2019s inaugural committee to foot the bill for his personal expenses.\u201d
This is a well-trodden strategy for defense teams, so it\u2019s no surprise Manafort\u2019s team is relying on this playbook. Cooperating witnesses \u2014 particularly those, such as Gates, who had a lot of criminal exposure and emerged with a deal \u2014 always come with this baggage. Gates, in the defense\u2019s estimation, is not just a liar himself \u2014 cheating, embezzling money from Manafort \u2014 but he also turned on his former business associate when he had a chance to save himself. Or as defense attorney Thomas Zehnle said during opening arguments: \u201cMr. Manafort placed his trust in the wrong person.\u201d
But this attack is why prosecutors are calling many witnesses and have submitted reams of evidence. That doesn\u2019t mean the arguments don\u2019t have weight. As Braun noted, defense attorneys will point out to the jury that \u201cwhen their freedom was not directly at stake, look at the choices they made.\u201d<\/p>\n

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