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 Tensions at the Paul Manafort fraud trial grew so heated Monday that the judge suggested that one of Robert Mueller’s prosecutors was crying during a discussion out of the jury’s earshot, according to a transcript of the proceedings. 
 
 “I understand how frustrated you are,” U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III said during the discussion. “In fact, there’s tears in your eyes right now.’’ 
 
 When Prosecutor Greg Andres protested that he didn’t have tears in his eyes, the judge shot back: “Well, they’re watery.” 
 
 Gates, seated at right, answers questions at the Alexandria Federal Courthouse on Aug. 6. Source: Dana Verkouteren via AP Photo 
 
 The exchange came during testimony by Manafort’s former right-hand man, Rick Gates, who offered dramatic details about how he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his boss while helping him hide offshore accounts from U.S. tax authorities and defraud bankers to secure loans. 
 
 Mueller’s team has clashed repeatedly with Ellis, who questions the relevance of detailed evidence about Manafort’s work as a political consultant in Ukraine, where prosecutors say he made more than $60 million from 2010 to 2014. Some of those confrontations continued in bench conferences that jurors and dozens of media members couldn’t hear in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. 
 
 Andres complained that Ellis was blocking him from asking important questions while placing an emphasis on moving quickly at the bank- and tax-fraud trial of Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman. Ellis disagreed, saying he wasn’t emphasizing speed over substance. The judge continued that delay is unnecessary, and prosecutors should stick to the relevant evidence. 
 
 What follows is taken from the transcript: 
 
 “Look at me when you’re talking to me,’’ Ellis said to Andres. 
 
 “I’m sorry, judge, I was,’’ Andres said. 
 
 “No, you weren’t,’’ Ellis said. “You were looking down.’’ 
 
 “Because I don’t want to get in trouble for some facial expression,’’ the prosecutor said. “I don’t want to get yelled at again by the court for having some facial expression when I’m not doing anything wrong, but trying my case.’’ 
 
 Ellis said to another prosecutor: “You must be quiet.’’ 
 
 “I’m sorry, judge,’’ Andres said. 
 
 “Well, I understand how frustrated you are. In fact, there’s tears in your eyes right now.’’ 
 
 “There are not tears in my eyes, Judge,’’ Andres said. 
 
 “Well, they’re watery,’’ Ellis said. “Look, I want you to focus sharply on what you need to prove -- to prove the crime. And I don’t understand what a lot of these questions have to do with it.’ 
 
 The lawyers then returned to open court, and further sniping ensued after jurors left for the day. At the end of the day, Andres apologized to the judge, saying he didn’t mean to be disrespectful. The judge seemed to offer an olive branch. 
 
 “Don’t worry about it,’’ said Ellis, a 31-year veteran of the bench. “I’m not concerned about that at all. I remember trying cases.’’ 
 
 Ellis said he had cases that were important to him and his career. 
 
 “I remember the stress and I remember the pressure,’’ he said. “This is a stressful time. So I understand that. But I’m trying to minimize the stress time is all I’m trying to do. And I think we can do it. I don’t think this case is as complex as it could be made to be.’’ 
 
 Gates returns to the witness stand on Tuesday morning. ||||| The judge in former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortTop Dem on Senate Russia probe decorates house for ‘witch hunt’ on Halloween Trump says he has not received subpoena from Mueller Trump complained about Mueller investigation in final meeting with McGahn: report MORE’s trial suggested to a prosecutor for special counsel Robert Mueller Robert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE that he is “so frustrated” that there were tears in his eyes. 
 
 Bloomberg reported that U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III made the comment to prosecutor Greg Andres during a discussion out of earshot of the jury and members of the media. 
 
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 “I understand how frustrated you are,” Ellis said. “In fact, there’s tears in your eyes right now.’’ 
 
 Andres disputed Ellis’s statement, to which the judge replied, “Well, they’re watery.” 
 
 Tensions have existed between the prosecutors and Ellis throughout the trial. The judge has asked members of both sides to refrain from making facial expressions that might influence the jury. 
 
 He has also criticized Mueller’s team for presenting too much evidence on Manafort’s spending, arguing that spending on luxuries is not a crime. 
 
 Bloomberg reported that Ellis and Andres had other tense private conversations during the trial on Monday, during which former Manafort associate Richard Gates testified that he and Manafort committed crimes. 
 
 Andres claimed that Ellis was preventing him from asking essential questions for the trial. Ellis disputed that he was prioritizing speed over the prosecutor’s arguments. 
 
 The pair have had other confrontations during the trial, according to Bloomberg. 
 
 “Look at me when you’re talking to me,’’ Ellis said to Andres at one point. 
 
 “I’m sorry, judge, I was,’’ the prosecutor replied. 
 
 “No, you weren’t,’’ Ellis said. “You were looking down.’’ 
 
 “Because I don’t want to get in trouble for some facial expression,’’ Andres said. “I don’t want to get yelled at again by the court for having some facial expression when I’m not doing anything wrong, but trying my case." 
 
 Manafort is on trial for alleged financial crimes related to his work for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. The charges are being brought as part of Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, including whether members of the Trump campaign coordinated with Moscow.
– The high-stakes Paul Manafort trial is underway, and Bloomberg takes note of a particularly odd exchange Monday between US District Judge TS Ellis III and prosecutor Greg Andres. It came during a break in the testimony of former Manafort partner Rick Gates as the judge and prosecutors clashed, out of the jury's earshot, about which questions were fair game. "I understand how frustrated you are," said Ellis at one point. "In fact, there’s tears in your eyes right now." When Andres denied that, the judge responded, "Well, they're watery." At another point, the judge admonished Andres to look at him when speaking, instead of looking down. "I don't want to get in trouble for some facial expression," Andres replied. "I don't want to get yelled at again by the court for having some facial expression when I'm not doing anything wrong, but trying my case." As the Hill notes, Ellis has warned both sides not to make facial expressions in court that could sway the jury.