The jury in the trial of former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort would have convicted him on all 18 criminal charges if not for one juror who had questions about reasonable doubt, a juror told Fox News on Wednesday.
"There was one holdout," Paula Duncan, a juror in the trial that ended on Tuesday with Manafort found guilty on eight of 18 charges, said.
"We all tried to convince her to look at the paper trail. We laid it out in front of her again and again, and she still said that she had a reasonable doubt."
A federal jury convicted Manafort, handing a victory to Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Manafort was found guilty on five counts of tax fraud, one count of failing to file a financial document with the government, and two counts of bank fraud. He was accused of lying to tax authorities about his income and offshore tax accounts, failing to file reports about those accounts and defrauding banks to acquire loans.
The convictions were half of a double blow to Mr Trump. At the moment that the Manafort verdict was read out in Alexandria, Virginia, Mr Trump’s long-time personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty in Manhattan to eight counts of tax evasion, false financial statements and unlawful campaign contributions.
Mr Trump reacted to the news by calling Manafort a “good man” and saying that it was a “sad thing” he was convicted in federal court.
“This has nothing to do with Russian collusion ... This is a witch hunt and it’s a disgrace,” he complained to reporters in West Virginia.
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Paul Manafort convicted at fraud trial in setback for Trump
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