Tag: Cynthia Najdowski

Bank fraud. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman is the first person to stand trial on charges brought by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. The charges Manafort faces are mostly not connected to his work for the Trump campaign, and the prosecution has said that it does not intend to present evidence regarding Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election or any potential collusion between the Russians and Trump or his associates. In a court filing Monday, prosecutors said Manafort earned more than $60 million from his work in Ukraine. The vast majority of white-collar criminal cases are settled without the defendant standing trial, said Georgetown Law School professor Paul Butler, who previously worked as a federal prosecutor. In February, he was indicted in Alexandria on the charges he faces in the current trial. The Washington case is scheduled to be tried in September. “It could be that they think this case is a gateway to other cases,” Butler said, referring to the special counsel prosecutors. Prosecutors, however, argued that “the Trump campaign is relevant and inextricably intertwined” with one of the bank fraud and conspiracy charges brought against Manafort. The executive involved has not been named in court filings, but has been widely reported to be Stephen M. Calk, chief executive of Chicago’s Federal Savings Bank.