Mr. Gates also acknowledged on the stand that he had inflated expense reports, an admission sure to be cast by the defense as him stealing from Mr. Manafort.
His testimony, which he gave after 20-some meetings with prosecutors, backed up the key elements of the prosecution’s case.
He said that at his mentor’s instruction, he lied to Mr. Manafort’s accountants about the fact that Mr. Manafort controlled foreign bank accounts, mostly in Cyprus, in the names of shell companies that the accountants believed were Mr. Manafort’s clients.
He said four Ukrainian oligarchs, immensely powerful figures who, with Mr. Manafort’s help, managed to help elect a Russia-aligned president in 2010, paid Mr. Manafort millions through their own shell companies in Ukraine. He said Mr. Manafort knew that he was legally required to report his foreign bank accounts but did not because he wanted to report less income and lower his taxes.
Mr. Manafort’s allies argue that Mr. Gates can be discredited as a morally bankrupt and untrustworthy narrator who owes his professional career to Mr. Manafort, yet siphoned millions from his accounts. Then, faced with the prospect of prison and huge fines, Mr. Manafort’s allies say, he blamed Mr. Manafort for financial machinations that he himself executed. The defense also signaled Monday that it may allege extramarital affairs by Mr. Gates in a further attempt to attack a man whose Mr. Manafort’s friends say took advantage of his boss.
“Rick Gates owes everything to Paul. Paul made Rick a lot of money,” said Hector Hoyos, a longtime friend and business partner of Mr. Manafort’s who remained in contact with him after his indictment. “But Rick is not the strong-valued guy that Paul is. Rick will go wherever the wind takes him, and it just goes to show you that there is no such thing as loyalty and friendship anymore.”
When first facing prosecution by Mr. Mueller, it seemed Mr. Gates would stick by Mr. Manafort. On the October morning that they were indicted, Mr. Gates sent an email to friends and family defending Mr. Manafort against what he called an “unfair” and “distorted” narrative created by the news media, and suggesting the investigation that led to their arrest was politically motivated.
