Politics

Manafort Juror: Mueller Attorneys Looked Bored, Napped During Trial

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Since the guilty verdict came down on Tuesday in the trial of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, one juror has come forward to speak openly about the trial. Paula Duncan told “Fox News at Night” anchor Shannon Bream that after their early attempts to tie the Manafort case to Russian collusion were shut down, Mueller’s team appeared “bored” during the proceedings.

“If you’re bored, then why are we here?” Duncan asked.

In a wide-ranging interview, Duncan explained that only one juror, citing “reasonable doubt” kept the last ten counts against Manafort from being decided unanimously — but it was her overall characterization of the trial that was truly telling.

She said that it was clear from the very beginning that the prosecution’s real goal was to tie the Manafort case to President Donald Trump and possible Russian collusion — and the conviction of Paul Manafort seemed to be more of a means to that end.

“It might have been a tax audit, but it wasn’t, and I think that they used Manafort to get the dirt on Trump, or hoping that he would flip on Trump … Certainly, Mr. Manafort got caught breaking the law, but he wouldn’t have gotten caught if they weren’t after President Trump.”

Duncan also noted that once the trial was underway, Mueller’s team appeared bored with it: “At times I thought the prosecution was a little bored. I mean, I saw them napping during the trial, [Greg] Andres and [Brandon] Van Grack especially, yeah. So it kind of sent a message of ‘we’re bored with this,’ and I’m thinking, ‘if you’re bored, then why are we here?'”

Watch the full interview below:

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