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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2018)
Page 8A NATION/WORLD East Oregonian Tuesday, August 7, 2018 Longtime Manafort deputy Rick Gates admits embezzlement AP Photo/Josh Edelson A U.S. Air Force plane drops fire retardant on a burning hillside in the Ranch Fire in Clearlake Oaks, Calif. on Sunday. Northern California blazes now largest in state history LAKEPORT, Calif. (AP) — Twin Northern California blazes fueled by dry vegeta- tion and hot, windy weather grew Monday to become the largest wildfire in state his- tory, becoming the norm as climate change makes the fire season longer and more severe. The two fires burning a few miles apart and known as the Mendocino Com- plex are being treated as one incident. It has scorched 283,800 acres, fire officials said Monday. The fires, north of San Francisco, have burned 75 homes and is only 30 per- cent contained. The size of the fires sur- passes a blaze last Decem- ber in Southern California that burned 281,893 acres. It killed two people, including a firefighter, and destroyed more than 1,000 buildings before being fully contained on Jan. 12. Hotter weather attributed to climate change is dry- ing out vegetation, creat- ing more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame cities and towns that are expand- ing housing into previously undeveloped areas. More than 14,000 fire- fighters are battling over a dozen major blazes through- out California, state Depart- ment of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Scott McLean said. “I can remember a cou- ple of years ago when we saw 10 to 12,000 firefight- ers in the states of Califor- nia, Oregon and Washington and never the 14,000 we see now,” he said. Crews did make progress over the weekend against one of the two blazes in the Mendocino Complex with help from water-dropping aircraft, Cal Fire operations chief Charlie Blankenheim said in a video on Facebook. But the other one is grow- ing after spreading into the Mendocino National Forest. The complex of fire has been less destructive to property than some of the other wildfires in the state because it is mostly raging in remote areas. But officials say the twin fires threaten 11,300 buildings and some new evacuations were ordered over the weekend as the flames spread. Farther north, crews gained ground against a deadly blaze that has destroyed more than 1,000 homes in and around Red- ding. It was nearly halfway contained, Cal Fire said. The wildfire about 225 miles north of San Francisco started more than two weeks ago by sparks from the steel wheel of a towed-trailer’s flat tire. It killed two fire- fighters and four residents and displaced more than 38,000 people. Officials began allow- ing some residents to return to their neighborhoods. But tens of thousands of others were still evacuated. ALEXAN- DRIA, Va. (AP) — The govern- ment’s star wit- ness in the finan- cial fraud trial of Paul Manafort testified Monday that he embez- zled hundreds Gates of thousands of dollars from the former Trump campaign chair- man — and told jurors that he and Manafort commit- ted crimes together. Rick Gates, described by witnesses as Manafort’s “right-hand man,” calmly related his criminal con- duct as prosecutors looked to provide jurors with damning testimony from a co-conspirator they say carried out an elaborate offshore tax-evasion and fraud scheme on behalf of his former boss. Gates, who is expected to continue testifying for several hours Tuesday, has been regarded as a crucial witness for the govern- ment ever since he pleaded guilty this year to two fel- ony charges and agreed to cooperate in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. The courtroom testi- mony brought Gates face- to-face with Manafort, his longtime boss and fellow Trump campaign aide, for the first time since his plea deal. His testimony, given in short, clipped answers as Manafort rarely broke his gaze from the wit- ness stand, follows that of vendors who detailed Manafort’s luxurious spending and financial professionals who told jurors how the defendant hid millions of dollars in offshore accounts. Gates told jurors that he siphoned off the money with- out Manafort’s knowledge by filing false expense reports. He also admitted to concealing millions of dol- lars in foreign bank accounts on Manafort’s behalf and to falsifying documents to help his former boss obtain millions of dollars more in bank loans. “We didn’t report the income or the foreign bank accounts,” Gates told jurors, noting that he knew he and Manafort were committing crimes each time. Under questioning from prosecutors, Gates read off the names of more than a dozen shell com- panies he and Manafort set up in Cyprus, St. Vin- cent and the Grenadines and the United Kingdom to stash the proceeds of Ukrainian political con- sulting work. Asked whether the money in the accounts was Manafort’s income, Gates said, “it was.” Gates said he repeat- edly lied to conceal the bank accounts and, at Manafort’s direction, he would classify money that came in as either a loan or income to reduce Manafort’s tax burden. Gates, who also served in a senior role in Donald Trump’s presidential cam- paign, is expected to face aggressive cross-examina- tion once prosecutors are finished questioning him. Manafort’s defense sig- naled early in the trial that they intend to blame Gates for any illegal conduct and to cast him as a liar and embezzler who can’t be trusted. Trump ups sanctions pressure on Iran WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States reim- posed stiff economic sanc- tions on Iran Monday, ratchet- ing up pressure on the Islamic Republic despite statements of deep dismay from European allies, three months after Pres- ident Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the international accord limiting Iran’s nuclear activities. Trump declared the land- mark 2015 agreement had been “horrible,” leaving the Iranian government flush with cash to fuel conflict in the Middle East. Iran accused the U.S. of reneging on the nuclear agree- ment, signed by the Obama administration, and of caus- ing recent Iranian economic unrest. European allies said they “deeply regret” the U.S. action. Trump said in a state- ment, “We urge all nations to take such steps to make clear that the Iranian regime faces a choice: either change its threatening, destabilizing behavior and reintegrate with the global economy, or con- tinue down a path of economic isolation.” A first set of U.S. sanctions that had been eased under the accord were going into effect at one minute past midnight under an executive ordered signed by Trump. Those sanc- tions affect financial transac- tions that involve U.S. dol- lars, Iran’s automotive sector, the purchase of commercial planes and metals including gold. A second batch of U.S sanc- tions targeting Iran’s oil sec- tor and central bank are to be reimposed in early November. Trump warned that those who don’t wind down their economic ties to Iran “risk severe consequences.” The Europeans didn’t like any of it. Despite Trump’s claims, the accord “is working and delivering on its goal” of lim- iting Iran’s nuclear program, said a statement by European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The ministers said the Iran deal is “crucial for the security of Europe, the region and the entire world,” and the Euro- pean Union issued a “block- ing statute” Monday to protect European businesses from the impact of the sanctions. A senior administration official, briefing reporters under ground rules requiring anonymity, said the United States is “not particularly con- cerned” by EU efforts to pro- tect European firms from the sanctions. Meet our newest pediatrician LET’S STIRRUP SOME FUN! August 7 - 11 Tues. • Aug. 7 • 9pm Wildhorse ino Resort & Cas Main Stage at the Fair Sawyer Brown Lina Castillo, MD New Rides! 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