Judge in trial of former Trump campaign aide Paul Manafort receives threats

The judge in the fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort says he has received threats.

He will also not release the names of jurors at the trial's conclusion because he fears for their safety.

Judge TS Ellis III said he is under the protection of US Marshals and is concerned for the "peace and safety of the jurors" during a hearing on Friday.

He said he personally received threats but declined to delve into specifics, adding that he was taken aback by the level of interest in the trial.

Jury deliberations began on Thursday in the tax and bank fraud trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, who worked as a political consultant.

Manafort is accused of hiding tens of millions of dollars in foreign income from the IRS - money he made advising Russia-backed politicians in Ukraine.

He is then believed to have lied to banks to get loans when the money ran out - and is now facing 18 felony counts on tax evasion and bank fraud.

Defence lawyers say the government failed to prove its case and that Manafort relied on underlings to handle his finances.

Mr Trump called Manafort a "very good person" as the jury began its second day of deliberations on Friday.

He said at the White House that it was "a very sad day for our country" and that Manafort had "worked for me for a very short period of time".

"I think it's very sad what they've done to Paul Manafort," he added.

Judge Ellis expressed his fears after a coalition of media organisations filed a motion requesting the names of jurors after the trial - as well as access to sealed transcripts of bench conferences that have occurred during the three-week trial.

Jury lists are presumed to be public unless a judge articulates a reason for keeping them secret.

The jury today submitted a note asking to stop deliberations half an hour early. Judge Ellis read the note aloud to court - which asked to leave at 5pm instead of 5.30pm.

The FBI reportedly had an active criminal investigation on Manafort since 2014 to do with business dealings while he was lobbying for former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych.

Manafort surrendered to the FBI last year after a federal grand jury indicted him and his business associate Rick Gates.

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