Nicolle Wallace talked about the long delay in the Manafort trial yesterday.
"It is unclear what was discussed in the hours-long secretive meetings or what the delay will mean for Robert Mueller's case against Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. the follows a new ruling that serves as a flashing light to Donald Trump's lawyers: That the ongoing Russia investigation is moving full steam ahead and the public has seen the tip of the iceberg," Wallace said.
"From the New York Times, the federal judge overseeing the federal trial of Paul Manafort sealed a private discussion after prosecutors from the special counsel's office argued that they needed to protect an ongoing investigation. The conversation concerned whether investigators had questioned Rick Gates, the government's star witness, and Manafort's long-time deputy about Mr. Trump's campaign.
"Prosecutors argued they needed to protect the secrecy and limit the disclosure of new information. The judge, T.S. Ellis, ruled in their favor. The ruling confirms what we believed to be true: Rick Gates has more to offer than evidence of Manafort's alleged financial crimes, and that could mean danger for Trump or his inner circle," she said.
She asked former prosecutor Joyce Vane to explain what was going on. who said it appeared to be about a juror discussing the case.
"We also heard this week that it was possible that Gates wouldn't serve any jail time at all at the end of these proceedings. and you'll remember that he was indicted along with Manafort for the whole kit and kaboodle," she pointed out.
"I don't think it's by testifying in the Manafort trial. The government didn't need Gates to prove this case. They must be getting assistance from him on something else and that something else is the content of those six sealed pages of the transcript from yesterday.
"Gates was around for the Republican convention. He may know details, for instance, about how the Republican party platform was softened towards Ukraine. He could know about money donors to the inauguration. He could know about contacts between people involved in the campaign and Russians. so there are a lot of possibilities for what he might be able to narrate.
"We'll just have to remain curious a little bit longer."
