Jurors in the criminal trial of Paul Manafort wrapped up their first day of deliberations Thursday with a series of questions for the judge, leaving the one-time Trump campaign chairman to wait at least one more day before learning his fate.
The jury asked the judge to clarify reasonable doubt and the legal requirements to report foreign bank accounts — two of the four questions they raised before concluding for the day. Jurors will resume their consideration of the 18 tax and bank fraud charges lodged against Mr. Manafort on Friday.
The questions could concern prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller’s team. Jurors appear to have some doubts about Mr. Manafort’s role in at least some of the charges based on the inquires. But it could also be a sign that they are skeptical of defense counsel claims that former Manafort business associate Rick Gates was responsible for the misdeeds prosecutors have attributed to Mr. Manafort.
At roughly 4:50 a court security officer delivered their questions via a note to Judge T.S. Ellis III, who was presiding over another matter. Judge Ellis appeared surprised by the questions, furtively shifting his attention between the note and the matter before him.
Jurors wanted to know if a person is required to file a Foreign Bank Account Report, or FBAR, if they own less than 50 percent of a company and have no signature authority.
That question goes to the very heart of the case. Prosecutors have accused Mr. Manafort of failing to report to the IRS his 31 overseas bank accounts that he allegedly used to stash more than $60 million he earned for political consulting work in the Ukraine.
Judge Ellis told them that a person is required to file an FBAR if they are acting on behalf of a U.S. individual with access and control of the account or if they are a U.S. person who owns more than 50 percent of the company.
The jurors also asked Judge Ellis to define a shelf company. Mr. Gates, the prosecution’s star witness testified last week that his former boss hid tens of millions of dollars he earned in the Ukraine. Mr Gates said a shelf company differed from shell company because it has no activity.
“Rely on your collective recollection,” Judge Ellis respond to the shelf company question.
In a sign that jurors are becoming overwhelmed with the more than 300 pieces of evidence submitted by prosecutors, they asked if the exhibit list could be amended to match the counts in the indictment. Judge Ellis denied the request without explanation.
Jurors also asked the judge to redefine reasonable doubt. He told them that the “government is not required to prove beyond ’all possible doubt,’ just doubt that can be reasoned.”
Neither prosecutors nor Manafort’s legal team objected to Judge Ellis’ answers to jurors’ questions.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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