Tag: Aide-de-camp

A former campaign aide to Donald Trump lived a “secret life” including an extramarital affair in London, a court heard on Tuesday. Manafort ex-business partner Rick Gates testifies they committed crimes together Read more Manafort, a former Trump campaign chairman, has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of bank and tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. In a dramatic moment before the jury, Manafort’s defence counsel, Kevin Downing, put it to the government’s star witness: “There’s another life, right, the other Rick Gates? “I had a period of time when I had another relationship,” he added. “When did you start providing false and misleading information to the special counsel’s office?” the defence counsel asked bluntly. Gates finally admitted that he had provided false information prior to striking a plea agreement. Manafort’s political work included advising Viktor Yanukovych on policy after he won the Ukrainian presidency, Gates said. He added Manafort worked for a time for the Opposition Bloc, the party that replaced Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, but it was out of power and so “income streams were more difficult to come by”. Andres asked: “Was he having trouble paying his bills?” Gates replied: “He was.” Gates said he and Manafort turned to a Cypriot lawyer, whom he referred to in court as “Dr K”, who set up bank accounts and shell companies on Manafort’s behalf and “handled everything”. Andres asked him: “Did you provide false information to the banks?’ Without hesitating, Gates replied: “Yes.” Andres followed up: “Did Mr Manafort know?” Again the reply came: “Yes.”

A Florida state lawmaker’s aide was fired late Tuesday, hours after he claimed two survivors of last week’s school shooting in Parkland, Fla., who had appeared on television were actors. Benjamin Kelly, an aide to state Rep. Shawn Harrison (R), emailed a Tampa Bay Times reporter after students Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg appeared on CNN to call for legislation to curb gun violence. According to Tampa Bay Times reporter Alex Leary, the staffer emailed him, saying, "Both kids in the picture are not students here but actors that travel to various crisis when they happen." About an hour later, Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran (R) tweeted that he fired Kelly. “On behalf of the entire Florida House, I sincerely apologize to the students targeted and again commend them for their courage through this unspeakable tragedy,” Corcoran tweeted. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Kelly himself later tweeted that his comments should not reflect on Harrison, and that he had erred in trying to “inform a reporter.” “I meant no disrespect to the students or parents of Parkland,” wrote Kelly, who later on Tuesday appeared to change his Twitter setting so that his tweets were made private. Rep. Shawn Harrison is an honest and respectable man. In no way should he be held responsible for my error in judgement. Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have in recent days spoken out in favor of legislation to curb gun violence. Updated: 8:45 p.m.