Manafort jury begins day 4 of deliberations

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The jury in the criminal trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort began its fourth day of deliberations on Tuesday.

The 12-member jury — which is made up of six men and six women — left the courtroom shortly after 9:30 a.m. to begin discussions. Judge T.S. Ellis III again asked jurors to confirm that they adhered to the court’s orders not to discuss or investigate the case on their own.

{mosads}Jurors have not been sequestered throughout the trial, raising questions since President Trump has been a vocal about his support for Manafort, calling him a “good guy.”

The jury sparked speculation late Monday it was close to reaching a verdict. Just before 4:30 p.m., Ellis said he had received word the jurors would like to continue deliberating until 6:15 p.m.

But when 6:15 p.m. arrived, he reconvened court just to tell the attorneys and the press present in the suburban Washington, D.C., courtroom that he was dismissing the jurors for the evening.

Manafort has been charged with 18 criminal counts of tax and bank fraud stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

The trial, which has drawn intense media scrutiny and public interest, marks the first courtroom test for the probe, though it has little to do with the campaign.

The jury, meanwhile, had a lot to comb through. Prosecutors called 27 witnesses and submitted more than 350 documents over the course of 2 1/2 weeks.