Manafort accused of stashing cash offshore as trial begins

Prosecutors laid out their case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in a Virginia courtroom Tuesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye told jurors that Manafort orchestrated a multimillion-dollar conspiracy to evade U.S. tax and banking laws and that he considered himself above the law as he funneled tens of millions of dollars through offshore accounts. Asonye said that Manafort used that “secret income” to live a lavish lifestyle.

Although the case represents the first trial arising from special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the charges stem from Manafort’s business dealings years before he joined Donald Trump’s campaign in April 2016. Trump named Manafort chairmen of his campaign a month later but fired him a month after that.