Trump praises Manafort during jury deliberations

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump is calling Paul Manafort a “very good person” as a jury deliberates in the tax and bank fraud trial of the former Trump campaign chairman.

Trump said Friday at the White House that it was “a very sad day for our country.” He said Manafort “worked for me for a very short period of time,” but added “I think it’s very sad what they’ve done to Paul Manafort.”

The jury began its second day of deliberations Friday.

Prosecutors say Manafort hid tens of millions of dollars in foreign income from the IRS, money he made advising politicians in Ukraine. When the Ukrainian money dried up, they say he lied on loan applications to maintain his cash flow.

Defense lawyers say the government failed to prove its case.