Manafort trial delayed; judge approves immunity for 5 witnesses
A federal judge has postponed until next week the tax fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The trial, which had been scheduled to start Wednesday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, has been moved to July 31. But U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III on Monday decided that the defense needed more time to review the discovery, thousands of pages of data and documents turned over by prosecutors in the last several weeks.
The documents come from a firm that handled Manafort's bookkeeping and the electronic devices of Rick Gates, his longtime business associate.
Gates pleaded guilty earlier this year and is expected to testify against Manafort.
Ellis also approved the special counsel's request to offer immunity to five witnesses who are expected to testify at Manafort's trial.
- Dennis Raico: A person named Dennis Raico, according to CNBC, worked at Chicago-based Federal Savings Bank. The government has been investing whether Manafort promised the president of FSB, Steve Calk, a job in exchange for a $16 million home loan.
- Cindy Laporta: Laporta is employed by Kositzka, Wicks and Company, which is Manafort's accounting firm, Bloomberg reported;
- Conor O'Brien: O'Brien, like Laporta, works for KWC.
The other two witnesses who have been granted immunity are Donna Duggan and James Brennan.
The court will proceed with jury questionnaires Tuesday and begin jury selection on July 31.
CBS News' Clare Hymes and Julia Kimani Burnham contributed to this report.
