After Michael D. Cohen, his longtime personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations that he said had been directed by Mr. Trump, the president falsely claimed that the violations were not even a crime. As they always have, they are pursuing hundreds of cases across the country, even as the president is fixated on only one of them. “That message is that the rule of law applies,” Mr. Khuzami said, standing in front of a phalanx of F.B.I. Paula Duncan, a firm supporter of Mr. Trump who served on the jury that convicted Mr. Manafort, made the same point in an interview on Saturday. Although she believes that Mr. Manafort was targeted because Mr. Mueller’s team hopes he is a steppingstone to Mr. Trump, she said, he was convicted because of “overwhelming” evidence.

Source: New York Times August 25, 2018 19:41 UTC