FREE, WHAT WAS IN IT FOR HIM? AND WAS HE WORKING FOR SOMEBODY
ELSE NOT FOR FREE?
NBC NEWS NATIONAL SECURITY AND
JUSTICE REPORTER JULIA AINSLEY
JOINS ME NOW FROM OUTSIDE OF THE
COURTHOUSE.
COURTHOUSE. JULIA, LET ME ASK THIS FIRST.
ARE WE DONE FOR THE WEEK?
>> Reporter: WE’RE DONE FOR THE
WEEK.
WEEK. WE’RE ACTUALLY DONE UNTIL 1:00
P.M. MONDAY.
P.M. MONDAY. THAT’S A LONG RECESS FOR A JUDGE
THAT KEPT PRESSURING THE DEFENSE
TO GO AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
I MEAN WE’VE REALLY BEEN
BREEZING THROUGH THIS AND
ACTUALLY EXPECT THE PROSECUTION
TO REST MY NEXT WEEK, CHUCK.
>> AND THAT MEANS RICK GATES,
THE FORMER PARTNER/NOW
PROSECUTION STAR WITNESS, THERE
WAS SOME RUMORS HE COULD GET ON
THE STAND TODAY, BUT IT LOOKS
LIKE WE’VE GOT TO WAIT UNTIL
MONDAY FOR THAT ONE.
>> Reporter: JUST WALKING BEHIND
ME NOW, WE DID SEE THE LAWYERS
WALK ACROSS.
WALK ACROSS. I DIDN’T WANT YOU TO MISS THAT.
>> WHILE YOU WERE TALKING, DON’T
WORRY, WE CAUGHT MANAFORT
WALKING AND WE JUST CAUGHT GATES
WALKING, SO GO.
>> Reporter: THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR CATCHING THAT.
THAT COULD MEAN SOMETHING IN
TERMS OF WHEN RICK GATES MIGHT
TESTIFY.
TESTIFY. LAWYERS I SPOKE TO TODAY SAID
THEY EXPECT HIM TO COME SOMETIME
BETWEEN THE MIDDLE OF THE
LINEUP.
LINEUP. WHAT WE GOT TODAY WAS A LOT OF
THE TAX SIDE.
IT’S NOT THE FASHION SIDE THAT
WE HAD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
WEEK WHERE WE LAID OUT AND HEARD
HOW INCREDIBLY LUXURIOUS HIS
LIFESTYLE WAS.
LIFESTYLE WAS. TODAY WE GOT THE MEAT AND
POTATOES.
POTATOES. WE FOUND OUT THERE ARE TAX
PREPARERS OR ONE TAX PREPARER
THAT WAS GIVEN IMMUNITY TO SHARE
HER TESTIMONY THAT SHE DID
FALSIFY, KNOWINGLY SO, THIS TAX
RECORDS TO THE TUNE OF $900,000,
CHANGING WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A
MUCH LOWER INCOME BECAUSE SHE
WAS KNOWINGLY USING SOME
INFORMATION THAT SHE KNEW TO BE
FALSE.
FALSE. NOW WE’RE WAITING TO HEAR FROM
RICK GATES.
RICK GATES. WE HOPE THAT WILL BE SOMETIME
NEXT WEEK.
NEXT WEEK. MAYBE THE POWWOW WE SAW BEHIND
US IS GOING TO TELL US WHAT’S
COMING FORWARD NEXT WEEK, CHUCK.
BUT RICK GATES WILL BE KEY NOT
ONLY TO THE PROSECUTION BUT TO
THE DEFENSE WHO WANTS TO USE
RICK GATES AND DISCREDIT HIM TO
TRY TO THROW AWAY THIS WHOLE
CASE AND SHOW THAT IT WAS RICK
GATES WHO REALLY WAS THE BAD
ACTOR HERE.
ACTOR HERE. >> I WANT YOU TO TELL ME ABOUT
ANOTHER PIECE OF TESTIMONY
TODAY.
TODAY. PHILIP ALIFF, A TAX PREPARER,
WHO I GUESS WAS PUT ON THE STAND
TO WALK US THROUGH ALL OF HIS
CYPRUS ACCOUNTS.
CYPRUS ACCOUNTS. SUDDENLY PAUL MANAFORT’S WIFE
LEFT THE COURTROOM.
DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENED THERE.
>> Reporter: SHE DID.
IT WAS RIGHT AT THE POINT -- SO
PHILIP ALIFF TAKES THE STAND.
HE’S DRY, PRETTY MONOTONOUS, BUT
HE GETS TO ONE POINT IN HIS
TESTIMONY THAT MADE MRS.
MANAFORT, KATHLEEN MANAFORT,
LOWER HER HEAD, DAB A TEAR AND
EVENTUALLY LEAVE THE ROOM FOR
ABOUT FIVE MINUTES.
THAT IS WHEN HE SAID THEY DID
NOT TELL ME THAT THERE WERE
FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNTS.
YES, I KNEW THERE WERE FOREIGN
EJT TEE
EJT TEE ENTITIES, BUT I HAD NO IDEA
THESE FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNTS IN
CYPRUS EXISTED.
CYPRUS EXISTED. WHEN I COMPILED THEIR TAX
RETURNS, I DID SO WITHOUT
KNOWING ALL OF THEIR INCOME.
THAT WAS A DEFINITE PIECE WHERE
MISS MANAFORT REALIZED THERE’S
SOME TROUBLE HERE IN WHAT HE’S
SAYING.
SAYING. >> WE LEARNED A LITTLE BIT, I
GUESS DID THE WORD "TRUMP" GET
UTTERED TODAY BECAUSE MANAFORT’S
TRUMP TOWER CONDO AND RENT ON
THAT WAS SOME PART OF SOME
FALSIFIED DOCUMENTS.
FALSIFIED DOCUMENTS. WHERE DID THAT COME UP TODAY?
>> Reporter: I DID NOT HEAR THE
WORD "TRUMP" BUT DEFINITELY WHAT
THEY REFERRED TO WAS THE HOWARD
STREET PROPERTY WAS UNDER BIG
QUESTION TODAY.
QUESTION TODAY. THAT WAS REALLY A BUSINESS
PROPERTY.
PROPERTY. THEY USED IT AS A RENTAL.
THEY RENTED IT OUT TO MAKE MORE
INCOME.
INCOME. BUT PAUL MANAFORT ASKED HIS TAX
PREPARER, PHIL ALIFF, TO SAY
THAT THIS WAS A PRIVATE
RESIDENCE FOR HIM AND HIS WIFE
IN NEW YORK AND THAT THEY WERE
THERE MANY DAYS OF THE YEAR WHEN
THEY CAME TO NEW YORK TO DO
BUSINESS.
BUSINESS. PHILIP ALIFF REFUSED TO DO THAT.
HE SAID IF YOU ARE TRYING TO GET
A LOAN AND YOU WANT ME TO
FALSIFY THIS INFORMATION, I
WON’T.
WON’T. I WON’T DO THAT.
HE VERY CLEARLY IN AN E-MAIL
THAT WE SAW POINTED OUT TO MR.
MANAFORT THAT HE WAS INCORRECT
THE WAY HE WAS DESCRIBING THAT
RESIDENCE.
RESIDENCE. SYDNEY LA PORTA WAS DIFFERENT.
SHE CAME AROUND WHEN THE
MANAFORTS WERE REALLY IN CRUNCH
TIME, 2014, 2015, THE BOTTOM WAS
FALLING OUT.
FALLING OUT. THEY WERE TAKING EXTREME
MEASURES TO FALSIFY WHAT THEIR
INCOME REALLY WAS, WHAT THEIR
LOANS REALLY WERE, AND SHE DID
LET THEM BLUR THE LINES BETWEEN
WHAT’S A LOAN AND WHAT’S INCOME.
SO WE SAW TWO VERY DIFFERENT
CHARACTERS FROM DIFFERENT POINTS
IN THE MANAFORT LIFE.
>> HOW IS THE MANAFORT ATTORNEYS
EXPLAINED AWAY THIS TESTIMONY?
HOW ARE THEY COUNTERING?
HOW ARE THEY CROSS EXAMINING
THESE WITNESSES WHO BASICALLY
ARE CORROBORATING A PAPER TRAIL?
>> Reporter: SO I CAN’T WAIT TO
HEAR THE CROSS EXAMINATION OF
SYDNEY LA PORTA, THAT WILL COME
MONDAY.
MONDAY. WE DID HEAR A BRIEF CROSS
EXAMINATION OF ALIFF.
THE WHOLE DEFENSE THEORY HERE I
THINK CAN KIND OF BE BOILED DOWN
TO THE TERM BREAD CRUMBS.
THEY WANT TO SAY THAT PAUL
MANAFORT LEFT PLENTY OF BREAD
CRUMBS FOR PHILIP ALIFF AND
ANYONE ELSE KEEPING THE BOOKS TO
UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHERE THIS
INFORMATION WAS COMING FROM,
THAT THEY WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT
FOREIGN NAMES MIGHT HAVE LED TO
FOREIGN ACCOUNTS AND THAT REALLY
HE WASN’T TRYING TO OBFUSCATE
ANYTHING.
ANYTHING. ONE OF THEIR ARGUMENTS IS THAT
ONLY A FOOL WOULD GIVE ALL OF
THIS INFORMATION AND NOT EXPECT
TO BE AUDITED.
WE MAY SEE LATER WHEN THEY MAKE
THEIR FINAL ARGUMENTS THAT
THEY’LL SAY WHY IS THE
GOVERNMENT PURSUING A CRIMINAL
CASE NOW WHEN THEY NEVER AUDITED
HIM AND TOOK CIVIL MEASURES FOR
YEARS.
YEARS. >> WELL, THAT WILL BE
INTERESTING TO HEAR THOSE
ANSWERS WHEN WE RETURN MONDAY AT