Rick Gates, beginning testimony at the financial crimes trial of Paul Manafort, said he committed crimes with his former boss.
Prosecutor Greg Andres asked Gates if he conducted “criminal activity” with Manafort and if he had “committed crimes” with Manafort. Gates said “yes” to both questions.
Gates also admitted to taking money from Manafort. “I added money to expense reports,” he said, adding that he obtained “several hundred thousand dollars” in this way.
Gates said he had authority over some of the offshore accounts that Manafort owned, and that he was the one who directed the law firm that ran the consulting group’s accounts to transfer money to his own accounts, leaving Manafort in the dark on the exact dollar amount.
Gates was Manafort’s right-hand man during the pair’s lobbying work in Ukraine. Special counsel Robert Mueller originally charged Gates alongside Manafort, but Gates reached a plea deal with Mueller in exchange for cooperating in the investigation.
Gates took the stand for the first time on Monday afternoon. He is expected to be the prosecution’s star witness in the case.
During his testimony, Gates ran through a list of crimes that he helped Manafort commit. He said that he and Manafort told an accountant, incorrectly, that Manafort did not have foreign bank accounts. Gates said he did this “at Mr. Manafort’s direction.”
Gates also testified that he helped Manafort underreport his income on his tax filings, and lied to Manafort’s bookkeeper about the nature of Manafort’s loans.
Manafort is on trial here facing bank and tax fraud charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Gates’ appearance on the stand Monday was highly anticipated, and, during the recess after it was announced, observers aggressively tried to squeeze into seats in the already packed courtroom.
Manafort’s attorneys have already made claims that Gates was to blame for Manafort’s alleged crimes, and that he embezzled money from his former boss, a focus of their defense.