The Paul Manafort trial is getting real. And by getting real, I mean getting real WEIRD. Everyone’s obsessing over an overpriced, ugly coat.
Back to that in a second.
Apparently, prosecutors are using Manafort’s wealth– including his stupid purchases– to prove that he’s guilty.
Prosecutors have detailed in court that over the course of five years, ending in 2014, Manafort spent nearly $1 million alone on suits, sport coats, shirts and jackets at Alan Couture, a luxury menswear store in New York.
The Republican political operative, prosecutors allege, paid off these expenses using wire transfers from secret offshore accounts to hide the wealth he’d amounted from his political consulting work in Ukraine. The government has accused him of failing to pay taxes on the millions he made and lying on documents to get loans.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III really wasn’t feeling it and made it known that he was annoyed by prosecutors giving him loads of unimportant information.
“The government doesn’t want to prosecute somebody because they wear nice clothes, do they?” Ellis asked. “Let’s move on.”
But back to important things. Let’s talk about the BIG subject at hand: Manafort’s $15,000 ostrich coat. We have a picture of it. Are you ready for this?
Behold. The $15,000 ostrich coat Manafort bought with an international wire transfer, according to a men’s clothier who testified today. Government exhibit pic.twitter.com/BjuQ39ZeJ0
— Kara Scannell (@KaraScannell) August 1, 2018
The verdict is in! It’s UGLY.
Guilty. https://t.co/VV05eBh09J
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) August 2, 2018
It looks like someone made a Member’s Only jacket, but out of ostrich-textured pleather. https://t.co/Kj6MNLTRhX
— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) August 2, 2018
good god it looks like liberace and the fonz had a baby together and raised it in hot topic https://t.co/G6HVsdZZOJ
— Kilgore Trout (@KT_So_It_Goes) August 2, 2018
A grown ass man bought this jacket. That's the most surprising part of this story. https://t.co/2d46vqsFxz
— Jackie Bouvier (@jackiembouvier) August 2, 2018
I would just like to personally salute the salesperson that got Manafort to spend $15K on this hideous thing. That is one well-earned commission check. https://t.co/Xavk1kmzEp
— Robyn Pennacchia (@RobynElyse) August 2, 2018
Outrageous! Let's bring down the democratically elected head of the executive branch over this!!!!! https://t.co/jHgoKNRXEp
— Howdy Partner 🤠 (@howdy_partner) August 2, 2018
That coat is a crime in and of itself. https://t.co/CTQld33jw5
— McBlondeLand (@McBlondeLand) August 2, 2018
Agreed. It’s a crime against my eyeballs.
HUGE thanks to Mueller for this. This is what his “investigation” has gotten us– the important revelation of this extremely ugly, overpriced coat.