On Wednesday evening, the public got a peek at former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort’s much-discussed wardrobe, which has been an eye-catching part of the first trial in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The special counsel’s office released photos of Manafort’s many expensive clothing purchases — nubby gray suits, silky striped suits, checkered blue suits, and more “casual” jackets made from brown python and black ostrich leather — that it claims Manafort paid for with laundered money. The trial, which began on Tuesday, deals with the allegation that Manafort earned millions of dollars working for the Ukrainian government, filtered the money through offshore shell companies without reporting it to the US government or paying income taxes on it, and then proceeded to spend roughly $30 million of it on real estate, landscaping, fancy rugs, and clothing from luxury boutiques back in the States. On top of that, Mueller has charged Manafort with making fraudulent attempts to get bank loans. Employees at the high-end clothing boutiques House of Bijan and Alan Couture testified in court on the second day of the trial. Manafort’s over-the-top wardrobe has figured prominently into his case because it offers evidence that he secretly wired money from offshore bank accounts to vendors in the US. Clothing can also be weaponized to play on our judgmental sides. |