Paul Manafort's lawyer says former business partner Rick Gates to blame

A lawyer for Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman of U.S. President Donald Trump, on Tuesday accused Manafort’s former partner Rick Gates of embezzling money and blamed Gates for the financial charges against Manafort.

“Rick Gates had his hand in the cookie jar,” defense attorney Thomas Zehnle said in opening statements at Manafort’s trial in federal court in Virginia. “Little did Paul know that Rick was lining his own pockets.”

Reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Will Dunham