[2] Downing worked in the United States Department of Justice from 1997 to 2012 in the Tax Division, serving first as a trial attorney in the Western Criminal Enforcement Section and then as senior litigation counsel.
[2] At the Justice Department, Downing handled cases involving tax evasion via offshore financial vehicles and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations.
[6] When he joined the firm, he told Reuters that his practice at Miller & Chevalier would involve advising financial institutions on how to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) of 2010.
On July 26, 2017, the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a no-knock search warrant on Manafort's northern Virginia home a day after the former campaign manager had met with the Senate Intelligence Committee.
[14] After Manafort was sentenced on March 13, 2019, outside the courthouse, Downing falsely asserted that judge Amy Berman Jackson "conceded that there was absolutely no evidence of any Russian collusion in this case" and "So that makes two courts.
Two courts have ruled no evidence of any collusion with the Russians"; Downing was heckled by members of the public, shouting "Liar" and "That's not what [the judge] said", while making the statement to media.