ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The Latest on Paul Manafort's trial on tax evasion and bank fraud charges (all times local):

Prosecutors say President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman orchestrated a multimillion-dollar conspiracy to evade U.S. tax and banking laws, leaving behind a trail of lies as he lived a lavish lifestyle.

The allegations came during opening statements Tuesday in the Paul Manafort trial. It's the first trial to stem from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential ties between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye told the jury that Manafort considered himself above the law as he funneled tens of millions of dollars through offshore accounts to pay for personal expenses such as a $21,000 watch and a $15,000 jacket made of ostrich.

The comments were the first volley in the bank fraud and tax evasion trial. It is expected to last several weeks.

A jury has been seated in the trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, on tax evasion and bank fraud charges.

Six men and six women, along with four alternate jurors, were chosen on Tuesday. Opening statements were expected later in the afternoon.

Manafort, who is already in custody and could spend the rest of his life in jail, appeared in the federal courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia, in a dark suit with his wife, Kathleen.

It's the first trial to result from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential ties between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia. Prosecutors are not expected to address the question of collusion, but Manafort's case is widely viewed as a test to the legitimacy of Mueller's probe, which Trump has called a "witch hunt."

Jury selection is underway in the trial of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman.

Dozens of jurors packed a federal courtroom Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia, to face questions from a judge and lawyers about whether they can be fair and impartial.

The trial is the first arising from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential ties between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia. But that isn't a focus of this trial.

Manafort is accused of failing to report tens of millions of dollars in Ukrainian political consulting fees and using that money to fund a lavish lifestyle.

Manafort, who is in custody, sat quietly with his defense lawyers. He was dressed in a suit, not jail attire.

Jury selection is set to begin in the trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman.

Paul Manafort will appear Tuesday in federal court in Virginia for the first trial arising from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Manafort is accused of concealing tens of millions of dollars in income from the IRS and fraudulently obtaining millions more in bank loans.

The trial will give the public the most detailed glimpse yet into a part of the Mueller investigation. It also comes as Trump and his lawyers have dialed up the intensity in their attacks on Mueller.

This is the first of two trials for Manafort. The second trial, scheduled for September in the District of Columbia, involves allegations that he acted as an unregistered foreign agent for Ukrainian interests. </s> ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortDemocrats return to a battered Trump Manafort's legal team argues NY prosecution constitutes double jeopardy Clip surfaces of Paul Manafort and wife on Nickelodeon game show MORE was in court Tuesday for the opening day of his criminal trial on bank and fraud charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) Swan MuellerFox's Cavuto roasts Trump over criticism of network Mueller report fades from political conversation Trump calls for probe of Obama book deal MORE.

Manafort appeared at the federal courthouse wearing a black business suit. His wife sat behind him in the courtroom.

At one point, Manafort ran his fingers through his graying hair and gave the jury pool a quick, close-lipped smile.

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Opening arguments are slated to begin Tuesday afternoon now that jurors have been selected. The jury box consists of six men and six women. There are four alternates — one man and three women.

The 18 counts facing Manafort include allegedly laundering $30 million from work on behalf of pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians and hiding money overseas to avoid paying U.S. taxes.

In addition to jury selection, Tuesday morning included a hearing regarding a motion to block Ukraine-related documents from being introduced as evidence at the trial.

Judge T.S. Ellis, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, said he wasn’t going to rule on that motion immediately, and instead asked prosecutors to limit the number of documents they introduce at trial.

The judge also advised the government lawyers against doing a data dump without explaining to the jury the significance of the documents.

Before today’s proceedings, Mueller’s team brought three dollies worth of documents into the courtroom for the trial.

Outside the courthouse, protesters lined up in front of the federal building with signs ranging from “Lock him up” and “It’s Mueller time” to “Trump wouldn’t spend one second in prison for you.”

The trial is expected to last about three weeks.

Manafort faces a separate trial in September in Washington, D.C., also on charges brought by Mueller that include conspiring to defraud the government and launder money, making false statement to federal officials, and failing to disclose he was acting as a political consultant and lobbyist for now-former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the political party Yanukovych led and the party that took over after Yanukovych fled to Russia in 2014.

Updated at 2:29 p.m. </s> The criminal trial for Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort began Tuesday morning in a federal court in Alexandria, Va. It is the first trial to come out of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Things moved very quickly on the first day of court. The Washington Post reports that a jury of six men and six women was chosen, and both the defense and the prosecution delivered their opening arguments. Prosecutors said Manafort sustained his personal financial fortune over the years by lying to banks and tax authorities.

At 69, Manafort is facing 18 charges of financial fraud. Between 2010 and 2014, he made more than $60 million working as a strategist for a political party in Ukraine, but the government says he failed to pay taxes on some of that money. He then falsified his income and hid debt in order to secure loans from banks once the money from Ukraine stopped coming in. If he is convicted for the most serious charges in the case, he could face life in prison.

While others around him have taken plea deals—including his former right-hand man, Rick Gates—Manafort has chosen to stand tall and face the music. He even attempted to push back against the special prosecutor.

In January, Manafort filed a civil lawsuit against Mueller and the U.S. Justice Department, alleging that when Mueller and his team looked into Manafort’s “unrelated, decade-old business dealings” in Ukraine, they had “diverged” from their original task of investigating whether or not there was collusion with the Russians in the 2016 election. In the same suit, Manafort also accused Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein of exceeding his authority by appointing Mueller as special counsel in the first place.

In April, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted a Justice Department motion to dismiss Manafort’s lawsuit. Manafort appealed that dismissal in June, but on Monday night—just hours before his criminal trial was set to begin—all parties reached an agreement to drop Manafort’s appeal of the civil case. No further details on that matter have been released.

In addition to his current financial criminal trial, Manafort will stand trial in a federal court in September on charges that he failed to register as a foreign lobbyist.

He is currently being detained in jail as his cases proceed. </s> President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has agreed to plead guilty to federal crimes at a hearing Friday morning, officials said.

The planned plea, if accepted by a judge, would short-circuit his second trial scheduled to begin later this month in the District of Columbia on charges of money laundering and lobbying violations.

The details of Manafort's plea were not immediately clear, including whether he would be providing any information to special counsel Robert Mueller as part of any deal.

People familiar with the plea discussions have previously said that Manafort has no intention of cooperating with Mueller, so it's possible any prospective agreement could allow him to admit guilt without providing information to investigators.

A hearing in the case scheduled for Friday morning was pushed back, according to the federal court's electronic filing system.

The move toward a guilty plea is another reversal for Manafort, who has fought vociferously - but unsuccessfully - against Mueller's probe. The 69-year-old political consultant was convicted last month in Alexandria, Virginia federal court on charges of bank and tax fraud.

In-person jury selection for his Washington trial was set to start Monday, with opening statements scheduled for Sept. 24 before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson. Any deal would not be final until Manafort admits guilt before the judge, who would need to approve the plea.

Another conviction would cap a dramatic fall for the international power broker and confidant of Republican presidents dating back to Ronald Reagan. Manafort's decision could be mixed news for Trump, who tapped the consultant to serve as his campaign chairman in June 2016 as he was securing the GOP presidential nomination.

If Manafort were to cooperate with Mueller, that could provide investigators new evidence or leads to chase; a guilty plea, however, would prevent weeks worth of headlines about the trial in the month before congressional elections.

The longtime lobbyist resigned from his position as campaign chairman in August 2016 amid increasing scrutiny of his work on behalf of a Russia-friendly political party in Ukraine.

Over a 40-year career, Manafort redefined and expanded Washington's influence industry domestically and internationally, parlaying successful campaigns into lobbying opportunities. But by the mid-2000s, there were signs that his consulting career had slumped, and at times his finances appeared to be shaky. It was in Ukraine that he revived both - in ways prosecutors say violated the law.

Both cases brought against Manafort by the special counsel stem from his work in Ukraine. The jury in Virginia found that Manafort hid millions of dollars he made in Ukraine to avoid paying taxes, and then lied to get loans when the political party that was paying him was ousted from power and the funding dried up.

In the trial scheduled in Washington, Manafort faces charges of conspiring against the United States, money laundering, failing to register as a lobbyist, making false statements and conspiring to obstruct justice by trying to influence witnesses.

Manafort had the choice to consolidate both cases into one but declined. He had been jailed since June as a result of the witness tampering charges.

He has yet to be sentenced in Virginia, where legal experts say he faces 8 to 10 years in prison under federal guidelines on the eight of 18 counts on which he was convicted. A mistrial was declared on the remaining 10 charges after jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict.

It's unclear how a guilty plea might alter his ultimate sentence, and some lawyers have questioned whether he is focused on winning a reprieve elsewhere. Law enforcement officials have come to suspect that Manafort hopes he will be pardoned by the president, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue.

Trump has sought advice from his lawyers on the possibility of pardoning Manafort and other aides accused of crimes, his attorney Rudy Giuliani previously told The Washington Post, and was counseled against pardoning anyone involved in the ongoing Mueller probe. The president agreed to wait at least until the investigation concludes, Giuliani has said.

Several defendants have cooperated or pleaded guilty in connection with the special counsel probe, including Manafort's former right-hand man Rick Gates; former national security adviser Michael Flynn; Alex van der Zwaan, a lawyer who worked with Manafort; W. Samuel Patten, who admitted arranging for a Ukrainian businessman to illegally donate to Trump's inauguration; and former Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who was sentenced to 14 days in jail last week after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI.

The decision by Trump's onetime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to plead guilty last month in a federal investigation in Manhattan particularly angered the president, who denounced him as a "flipper."

Earlier this year, Manafort derided Gates, his former business partner, for striking a deal with prosecutors that provided him leniency in exchange for testimony against his former partner.

"I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have had the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence," Manafort said in February.

Kevin M. Downing, an attorney for Manafort, also said earlier this summer there was "no chance" his client would flip and cooperate with prosecutors.

That posture drew plaudits from Trump, who praised his former campaign chairman for his unwillingness to cooperate with the special counsel.

Prosecutors "applied tremendous pressure on him and . . . he refused to 'break' - make up stories in order to get a 'deal,' " the president tweeted last month. "Such respect for a brave man!"

Tom Hamburger and Rachel Weiner contributed to this report. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption A court sketch showed Paul Manafort, seated, with his attorney Richard Westling

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has agreed to co-operate with an investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the US election as part of a plea deal.

In court on Friday, he pleaded guilty to two criminal charges in the deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

The agreement avoids a second trial on money laundering and other charges.

The White House insists the guilty plea has absolutely nothing to do with President Donald Trump.

Manafort was convicted last month on eight counts of fraud, bank fraud and failing to disclose bank accounts.

That was the first criminal trial arising from the justice department's investigation into alleged interference by Russia in the 2016 election.

However, the charges only relate to Manafort's political consulting with pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, largely pre-dating his role with the Trump campaign.

What happened on Friday?

In an appearance at a federal court in Washington DC, Manafort - who is being held in custody - pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy against the US and one charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Correspondents say he faces up to 10 years in prison under the deal and will also forfeit four of his properties and the contents of several bank accounts. Deadlocked charges from the previous trial will be dismissed if there is "successful co-operation" with the special counsel.

A lawyer for Manafort, Kevin Downing, told reporters outside the court that his client "wanted to make sure that his family was able to remain safe and live a good life".

Image copyright EPA Image caption A bystander made his point as defence lawyer Kevin Downing addressed the media

Manafort, 69, worked for Mr Trump's presidential campaign for five months in 2016 and was in charge when Mr Trump clinched the Republican party nomination.

In a statement, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Friday: "This had absolutely nothing to do with the president or his victorious 2016 presidential campaign. It is totally unrelated."

President Trump has branded the Mueller investigation a "witch hunt" and insisted there was no collusion between his team and Russia. The Kremlin has also repeatedly denied any meddling.

The charges in the planned second trial were to include money laundering, conspiring to defraud the US, witness tampering and failing to register as a foreign agent. Jury selection had been due to start on Monday.

What might Manafort reveal?

Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington

Image copyright Reuters

In a year filled with blockbuster Friday news stories, the announcement that Paul Manafort is co-operating with Robert Mueller's investigation is one of the biggest.

Although the White House downplays his importance to the campaign, Mr Manafort had top perch in the Trump team for key months in 2016.

For instance, he was in the June Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner and Russian nationals that was originally billed as a chance to obtain damaging information Russia had on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. He took cryptic notes about that meeting that he now might be willing to discuss.

After his August conviction on financial and tax fraud charges in Virginia, the prospect of Mr Manafort's walking away from his legal headaches a free man had been eliminated. It appears that the reality of additional legal expenses and possibly more prison time finally pushed the long-time Washington lobbyist to make a deal. This is probably exactly what the special counsel team had hoped for.

Now the president, who tweeted last month that Mr Manafort was a "brave man" who "refused to break and make up stories in order to get a deal", is left to wonder what comes next.

How did we get here?

Manafort was charged by Mr Mueller last October. At trial, he was accused of using 31 foreign bank accounts in three different countries to evade taxes on millions of dollars.

Prosecutors presented evidence of Manafort's luxurious lifestyle, saying it was only possible because of his bank and tax fraud.

Following last month's conviction, President Trump praised his former campaign chairman for refusing to "break" under legal pressure.

He tweeted he felt "very badly" for Manafort and lauded him for declining to "make up stories" to get a deal. </s> March 13 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s former presidential campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been indicted in New York on fresh charges of residential mortgage fraud, state prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Shortly after Manafort’s sentencing on federal conspiracy charges in Washington, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced that the indictment was filed in state Supreme Court last Thursday. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Tim Ahmann) </s> WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's, former campaign chairman (all times local):

President Donald Trump is weighing in on a judge's decision to jail his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort while he awaits trial.

Trump says in a tweet he "didn't know Manafort was the head of the Mob" and asks, "What about Comey and Crooked Hillary and all of the others? Very unfair!"

The president also referred incorrectly to Manafort's pre-trial detention, calling it a "tough sentence." Manafort hasn't been convicted of any crimes or sentenced to prison.

His jailing Friday came after he was accused of attempting to tamper with witnesses in his criminal case while he was on house arrest. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson found that in light of the new charges, she couldn't trust he would follow her orders.

President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman is going to jail.

Paul Manafort was ordered into custody Friday after a federal judge revoked his house arrest, citing newly filed obstruction of justice charges. The move by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson came after prosecutors accused Manafort and a longtime associate of witnesses tampering.

Manafort is the first Trump campaign official to be jailed as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. His attorneys have argued that Manafort didn't do anything wrong and accused prosecutors of conjuring a "sinister plot" out of "innocuous" contacts with witnesses.

Manafort will remain in jail while he awaits two trials in the next few months. He faces several felony charges related to his Ukrainian political work and money he funneled through offshore accounts. </s> Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, lied to special counsel Robert Mueller, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson said that Manafort "intentionally made multiple false statements to the FBI, the (office of special counsel) and the grand jury concerning matters that were material to the investigation."

The issue was the subject of a closed-door hearing Wednesday afternoon.

This story is breaking and will be updated. </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Paul Manafort was found guilty of multiple fraud charges in 2018

Donald Trump's former election campaign chief Paul Manafort breached his plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller by lying to prosecutors, a US judge says.

US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that Manafort "made multiple false statements" to the FBI, Mr Mueller's office and a grand jury.

Mr Mueller leads a probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.

Manafort has pleaded guilty to some charges, avoiding a separate trial.

He was convicted of financial fraud in August, relating to his work as a political consultant in Ukraine.

He then accepted a plea deal on other charges in return for co-operating with Mr Mueller's investigation.

In her ruling on Wednesday, Judge Berman Jackson said there was evidence that showed Manafort had lied about three different topics, including his contacts with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian political consultant. Prosecutors claim Mr Kilimnik had ties to Russian intelligence.

However, the judge cleared Manafort, 69, of allegations that he lied on two other subjects.

The verdict means that Manafort - who has been held in a detention centre in Virginia since June - could now potentially face harsher sentences or have charges against him re-filed.

Last year, Mr Mueller said that Manafort lied "on a variety of subject matters" after signing the plea deal.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Donald Trump: "I feel very badly for Paul Manafort"

What was the plea deal?

Last August, Manafort was convicted on eight counts of fraud, bank fraud and failing to disclose bank accounts.

A month later he pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy against the US and one charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice in a plea bargain with Mr Mueller. The agreement avoided a second trial on money laundering and other charges.

The plea deal meant Manafort would face up to 10 years in prison and would forfeit four of his properties and the contents of several bank accounts - but deadlocked charges from the previous trial would be dismissed.

It was the first criminal trial arising from the Department of Justice's investigation into alleged Russian interference in the presidential election.

However, the charges related only to Manafort's political consulting with pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, largely pre-dating his role with the Trump campaign.

How did we get here?

Manafort worked for the Trump presidential campaign for five months in 2016 and was in charge when Mr Trump clinched the Republican party nomination.

President Trump has branded the Mueller investigation a "witch hunt" and insisted there was no collusion between his team and Russia.

Manafort was charged by Mr Mueller last October and during the trial he was accused of using 31 foreign bank accounts in three different countries to evade taxes on millions of dollars.

Prosecutors presented evidence of Manafort's luxurious lifestyle, saying it was only possible because of his bank and tax fraud.
The former campaign chairman of U.S. President Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, appears in court for the opening day of his criminal trial on 18 bank and fraud charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller.