Deliberations began last Thursday morning to determine if former lobbyist Manafort is guilty of litany of financial crimes beyond a reasonable doubt. Before the day ended the judge received a note from the jury asking him to redefine “reasonable doubt” and provide them with the initial indictment. The judge told the courtroom the next day that he was “optimistic that the case might end soon.”

White House allies have been vocal about Manafort’s criminal trial and reiterating that it has nothing to do with his involvement in the president’s 2016 campaign and potential ties between Trump associates and Kremlin officials.

When the trial concludes, Manafort will face a second trial on charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and failure to properly register as an agent of a foreign government.
But that too could be impacted by the outcome of his first trial, Kendall Coffey said.

“If he gets a number of guilty counts, he may plea out the second trial because it’s possible the prison time already prompts him to seriously reconsider whether it’s worth going through the expense of another trial,” Coffey explained, noting that Mueller’s team, for example, might agree “to just add another five years to a 10-year sentence.”