x
Breaking News
More () »

Knitting in federal court? Paul Manafort's trial is a hit among Virginia retirees

The criminal fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has drawn a crowd of curious, sometimes napping, spectators.
Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
People line up outside the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse on the seventh day of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's trial August 8, 2018 in Alexandria, Virginia.

ALEXANDRIA, Va — Most days, they are among the first in line.

In a sea of dark suits, they lean more toward summer casual and comfortable shoes.

Outside of an army of journalists chronicling the criminal fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, few have tracked the proceedings more closely than the residents of the burgeoning high-rise community that surrounds the federal courthouse.

Many are retirees or those who work from home. Most regard the trial as entertainment, a curiosity or a civics lesson. Sometimes a combination of all three.

During opening arguments and this week’s testimony by Manafort’s longtime business partner Rick Gates, they packed the benches in the ninth-floor courtroom and in an overflow room three floors below where the proceedings were beamed in via closed-circuit television.

Among the group was a busy knitter, whose handiwork kept pace with the rhythm of the lawyers’ questioning.

There have been more than a few nappers, including a man who dozed off during Gates’ testimony – on the right shoulder of a journalist. The reporter was careful not to rouse the elderly man until it was necessary to relieve the weight on his note-taking arm.

A couple from Florida, babysitting local grandchildren, said they were more than happy to bear witness in the courtroom gallery as they waited until the kids arrived home from school.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
People line up outside the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse on the seventh day of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's trial August 8, 2018 in Alexandria, Virginia.

"Last week, I just got hooked," said James Dana Adams, a retired federal worker who has been very much awake throughout the proceedings.

Adams, who lives two blocks away from the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse, said he followed the Manafort case for months through news reports but wasn't aware until last week that members of the public were permitted to observe trials.

"I've been fascinated on so many different levels, watching the whole story as it's being pieced together in court," said the 66-year-old spectator, clad in shorts and casual shirt.

Adams said he sat through almost all of Gates' testimony. He described the witness as "articulate and very knowledgeable" about Manafort's business operations.

Gates, in addition to testifying that he conspired with Manafort to shield their foreign bank accounts from tax authorities and falsify loan documents, acknowledged he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort. Some of that money, Gates said, was used to finance a five-month relationship with his mistress in London.

George and Nancy Seaver, who have lived near the courthouse for several years and had never attended a trial before Manafort's, said they were moved by the divisive political climate that reigns in and around the nation's capital.

"We felt that this is the time we should see our system in action," Nancy Seaver said. "It was just time that we needed to do this."

George Seaver, a retired risk management executive, said he and his wife had followed the case and desired a closer view, given its proximity to their home.

"It is interesting to see how the proceedings are going – who is telling the truth and who isn't," George Seaver said.

Asked whether he had formed any conclusions, he said, "Let me just say this: The FBI accountant was very good."

Seaver referred to Morgan Magionos, an FBI forensic accountant, whose investigation allegedly linked Manafort to a web of foreign bank accounts that he failed to disclose to tax authorities and his own accountants.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
People line up outside the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse on the seventh day of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's trial August 8, 2018 in Alexandria, Virginia.

"(Manafort) should have hired her," Seaver said.

The Seavers and Adams have been amused by the unusually active role played by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III. The jurist, who has a taskmaster's reputation, has fully lived up to his profile, continually challenging prosecutors to pick up the pace of the Manafort case.

"Judges should be patient," Ellis, 78, declared Wednesday. "They made a mistake when they confirmed me."

The comment sent a ripple of laughter across the benches in both courtrooms, including the gallery where Adams watched intently.

The surge in public interest has not escaped Ellis.

Presiding over an unrelated immigration case as a packed gallery waited for the Manafort main event, Ellis lamented that the public doesn't take more interest in the everyday proceedings of the criminal justice system.

He said more people should be exposed to the legal plight of undocumented immigrants, many of whom pay thousands of dollars to "coyotes" to help them enter the USA.

Ellis' off-the-cuff commentary is one of the reasons Adams comes back to court, day after day.

Others said the divisive political climate has been more of a draw.

Jim Clark, a retired attorney, said he's reached a verdict, and it won't please Manafort.

"I've spent a lot of time following the whole Trump thing," said Clark, outfitted in appropriate retirement gear of Hawaiian shirt and sandals.

Clark said he was "convinced" that Gates was telling the truth, despite his many acknowledged faults.

After Gates' testimony, there was a noticeable drop in attendance, opening more than few spaces on the ninth and sixth floors of the courthouse.

Perhaps it was time for a nap.

Before You Leave, Check This Out