Manafort Faces Trial As First Defendant In Mueller Probe

Russia's 2016 election attack isn't at issue in the bank and tax fraud trial of former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort beginning in Virginia Tuesday, but in many ways the future of the Russia probe will very much be on the line as Special Counsel Robert Mueller works to secure a conviction.

Most tax and bank fraud cases are built on stacks of bland business documents and Internal Revenue Service paperwork — hardly the stuff of international intrigue.