[Published: Wednesday August 22 2018]
 Trump ex-campaign chief Manafort guilty of multiple fraud charges
VIRGINIA, United States 22 Aug (ANA) - Ex-Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort has been found guilty on eight charges of tax fraud, bank fraud and failing to disclose foreign banks accounts.
But the jury at his trial in Virginia failed to reach a verdict on 10 other charges and the judge declared a mistrial on those.
It was the first criminal trial arising from the justice department probe into alleged Russian election meddling.
But none of the charges relate to collusion with Russia in the election.
Responding to the charges, President Donald Trump said that Manafort's conviction was part of a "witch hunt" following the 2016 presidential election.
"It's a very sad thing that happened," Mr Trump told reporters as he arrived at a rally in West Virginia on Tuesday evening, adding that it had "nothing to do with Russian collusion".
The verdict came in the same hour that former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen admitted violating campaign finance laws in relation to hush money paid to Mr Trump's alleged mistresses.
Manafort, 69, was a key figure in Mr Trump's inner circle, but the president has since sought to distance himself from his former adviser.
The jury came back on the fourth day of deliberations. The judge has given prosecutors until 29 August to decide whether to ask for a fresh trial on the charges the jury was deadlocked on.
A lawyer for Manafort, Kevin Downing, said his client was "disappointed" with the verdict and was "evaluating all of his options at this point".
A date for sentencing has yet to be set.(ANA)
FA/ANA/22 August 2018-------
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