Say what you will about Paul Manafort (and you can say a lot): He’s no quitter. Pundits proclaimed Manafort’s goose cooked last week after his former business partner and co-defendant Richard Gates fessed up to the battery of crimes of which special counsel Robert Mueller has accused them, including tax and bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy against the United States. CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin summed it up: “I think the pressure on Manafort is going to be so enormous to plead guilty that I would be shocked at this point if he actually wound up going to trial.”

Yet on Wednesday, there was Manafort in the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse, pleading not guilty to all charges, leading to a trial date set for September 17.