The man 'believed the law did not apply to him': Manafort trial's first day
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On the first day of the trial, the northern Virginia federal courthouse lived up to its reputation as a “rocket docket” where cases move quickly. In a matter of a few hours, the judge had winnowed a jury pool of about sixty people down to 12 jurors and four alternates.
After lunch, opening statements took about an hour, followed by the trial’s first witness, Devine.
The architect of Sanders’ presidential campaign, Devine also worked closely with Manafort as a political consultant in Ukraine – a striking example of how US political consultants from across the spectrum take their expertise overseas, where they can often earn large amounts of money advising foreign politicians.
Devine said he worked for Yanukovych’s Party of Regions in Ukraine from 2005 to 2010 and returned briefly for a project in 2014. “It was an incredible operation,” he said of his first campaign there. Manafort had hired great people, he said, and had “substantial resources . . . I was really impressed by him.”
Devine said Yanukovych won the presidency in 2010 because of the “excellent campaign that Paul ran.” Devine said he produced TV commercials and wrote speeches for Yanukovych, earning $US500,000 and a bonus of $US100,000 when Manafort’s client won.
Article source: https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/driving-blind-20180701-h123xx.html?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed
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