Manafort Trial Day 15: More waiting. The third day of jury deliberations is set to kick off at 9:30am. What's the jury thinking? We don't know much -- they sent out just one note on Friday, and it was to ask for a 5pm departure. Stay tuned.
The jury went out to begin deliberating at 9:33am. Notable: Special counsel prosecutor Greg Andres was not in court. Ellis noted his absence, and said he hoped Andres was okay. AUSA Uzo Asonye replied, "He's fine, your honor" (no indication re: where he is)
Recall that last week, the judge said he planned to unseal most sealed bench conferences once the trial is over. Today, he asked the lawyers to confer about what should stay sealed (having to do with any ongoing investigations) — judge said it should be "very, very little"
While we wait, if you'd like to catch up on Friday's events — including the judge's revelation that he's been threatened and is getting special protection from the US Marshals Service buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Manafort update: We are done for the day, no verdict. The jury had asked to stay until 6:15pm, fueling speculation they might be nearing a decision, but there was no word on their status when we recessed for the night. They'll resume at 9:30am tomorrow.
It was a quiet day — no notes from the jury, at least not that we were made aware of. The judge held two bench conferences this a.m. with the lawyers (and the court security officer), and said they'd be unsealed at the end of the case. Also, Greg Andres was back by the afternoon.
If you're wondering what one does all day waiting for a verdict in a courthouse where you can't have a phone or computer, a lovely woman named Terry (she's been there the whole time, more on her later) taught me to make a paper crane 
