An Unsatisfying End to the Buzziest Part of Paul Manafort’s Trial
Rick Gates’s admission that he’d had a secret affair in London offered the potential for high drama. But in the end, it disappointed, like much of the testimony on day six.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The air in the courtroom had gone stale by early afternoon. It was day six of Paul Manafort’s trial, the first grand event launched by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
The mood had been buoyant and expectant at the start of Tuesday. With people gathering outside the courthouse as early as 6:30 a.m., some women—private citizens—took it upon themselves to police a long and unruly line of folks who seemed a touch too inclined to cut. (“Lines are the only democratic thing we have left!” Jana Valentiner told one offender as she ushered her back to her rightful place.) , the room seemed to sigh, —those once eager viewers trudged back from lunch as though on trial themselves.
