The Surreal Spectacle of the Manafort Trial
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Outside the federal courthouse here, where the trial of Paul Manafort began on Tuesday morning, a handful of protesters had gathered. Lock Him Up one sign implored. Trump won’t do time for you read another. A demonstrator played a snare drum. A bank of cameras in the square across from the red-brick-and-stone courthouse was trained on the front entrance, vainly awaiting Manafort’s arrival. Journalists littered the square itself.
Inside the courtroom, the scene was equally surreal, but for the opposite reason. The room was packed with journalists there to witness the first references to Russia or collusion in this case, which focuses on bank- and tax-fraud charges to the tune of more than $30 million. Both the prosecution and the defense took care not to mention Mueller or Donald Trump—and even the journalists packing the ninth-floor courtroom shushed each other over the forbidden terms.
