Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, has been convicted on eight of the eighteen charges he was facing. The conviction includes five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of failure to report foreign bank accounts.

Although Manafort’s crimes have nothing to do with Trump, the case was a critical point in Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller’s investigation of possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, as Republican leadership has called for it to come to an end.

“In the interests of the country, I think it’s time to wrap it up,” Vice President Mike Pence said in May.

The conviction has proved that Mueller and his team can successfully investigate and prosecute crimes it uncovers.

The remaining ten charges, including five counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, three counts of failure to report foreign bank accounts, and two counts of bank fraud, were declared a mistrial due to the jury being unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors were split 11-to-1 on these charges.

“We all tried to convince her to look at the paper trail. We laid it out again and again and she still said that she had a reasonable doubt,” jury member Paula Duncan said about the lone holdout.

On the same day as Paul Manafort’s verdict, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, entered a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal counts relating to tax evasion and making illegal campaign contributions.

Cohen implicated President Donald Trump in the charges relating to illegal campaign contributions, stating that Trump had directed him to make and coordinate payments to adult film stars Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) and Karen McDougal.

The payments, totaling $280,000, were made to ensure that the women wouldn’t reveal the details of their sexual relations with then candidate Trump.

Trump quickly fired back at Cohen with a tweet the next morning. “If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!” Trump said.

These legal losses for close Trump associates have eroded trust in the President for some Americans.

“The fact that these people are the ones close to the president is both worrying and disappointing,” senior Nick Hobin said. “I think this clearly disproves the witch hunt claims and makes it clear that Trump, instead of draining the swamp, has simply filled it with his own people.”