Paul Manafort Mocked for $15,000 Ostrich Coat

2022-08-13 09:15:54 By : Ms. Livia Lin

Paul Manafort‘s fashion faux pas — including a $15,000 ostrich leather jacket — were trotted out in court by prosecutors highlighting his extravagant lifestyle in an attempt to prove his guilt.

On Wednesday, prosecutors revealed in court that the former Trump campaign chairman, who’s on trial for bank and tax fraud, spent nearly $1 million from 2009 to 2014 on clothing at Alan Couture, a luxury menswear store in New York.

Manafort is accused of hiding more than $30 million in income in secret offshore bank accounts to avoid paying U.S. taxes. Prosecutors allege that Manafort paid for the costly clothing and other items through wire transfers from the offshore accounts. Manafort has denied any wrongdoing.

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Receipts from Alan Couture show that Manafort spent $15,000 on an ostrich leather jacket, $9,500 on an ostrich vest, and $18,500 on a python skin coat.

Now Manafort’s fashion choices are the subject of ridicule on Twitter. Here’s what critics are saying:

Though Manafort’s expensive attire made waves on social media, Judge T.S. Ellis was not moved.

In court on Tuesday and Wednesday, he sternly told the lawyers and the jury multiple times that Manafort is not on trial for living large. “The government is not going to prosecute people for wearing nice clothes,” Ellis said.