The judge in Paul Manafort’s fraud trial said Friday he has received threats over the case.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III made the comments as the jury deliberated for the second day, and as he rejected a motion to release information about the jurors. He said he's confident the jurors would be threatened as well if their information was public.
Ellis said that because of the threats against him, he travels with U.S. Marshals.
“The Marshals go where I go,” Ellis said.
Earlier Friday morning, Ellis, a famously prickly judge known for his colorful comments, acknowledged facing criticism about how he’s handled this case.
Ellis told attorneys “I’m no stranger to criticism,” but said “this case has brought it to a new level.”
Ellis was responding to a number of news organizations – the Washington Post, New York Times, AP, CNN, NBC, Politico and BuzzFeed – filing a motion to unseal records in the case, including information about the jurors.
Rejecting the request about the jury, Ellis said he doesn’t “feel right” about releasing the names of jurors, adding, “to do so would create a risk of harm to them.”
The judge also denied a motion to unseal all the bench conferences and sidebars, which have been sealed. Ellis said all that will be released to the public at the end of the trial.
After a trial spanning nearly three weeks, Manafort, 69, is awaiting a verdict on tax evasion and bank fraud charges.
He has been accused of hiding income earned from his Ukrainian political work from the IRS. He’s also accused of fraudulently obtaining millions in bank loans.
Manafort has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Since the jury began deliberating Thursday, the defense has been expressing increasing optimism about its chances. Kevin Downing, Manafort's attorneny, told reporters he sees the continued deliberations as "a great sign for the defense."
On Thursday, Ellis read aloud a note detailing four questions from the jury, which covered foreign financial accounts, shelf companies, the definition of reasonable doubt and other evidence in the case.
The defense took those questions -- especially the one about reasonable doubt -- as good news.
“We’re in the game,” one source close to the Manafort team told Fox News.
Prosecutors have not addressed the media during jury deliberations.
But in closing arguments this week, prosecutor Greg Andres told the jury, "The government asks you to return the only verdict that is consistent with the evidence, which is guilty on all charges."
The jury resumed deliberations Friday morning. It takes a unanmious guilty verdict from all 12 jurors to convict on each count.
