ALEXANDRIA, Va. _ A federal prosecutor lambasted Paul Manafort on Wednesday, telling a federal jury that it could ignore the testimony of a key government witness if need be and still vote to convict, saying President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman's finances were "littered with lies."
Greg Andres, a prosecutor from the office of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, delivered a bruising closing argument to the 12-member jury by describing Manafort as a serial liar who defrauded banks and the Internal Revenue Service out of millions of dollars to buy luxury homes, designer clothing, multiple cars and a five-star lifestyle.
"When you follow the trail of Mr. Manafort's money, it is littered with lies," he said in a 90-minute presentation.
The argument set the stage for a battle over whom jurors should believe as they consider the 18 charges against Manafort. Defense lawyers, who began their closing argument Wednesday afternoon, are expected to paint the key prosecution witness _ Richard Gates, Manafort's former top deputy in his business and in the Trump campaign _ as a confessed liar and a thief.
But Andres told the jury there was "more than sufficient" evidence to convict Manafort even without Gates' testimony.
He urged them to test Gates' word against that of others who testified against Manafort, including his accountants Cindy Laporta and Philip Ayliff; his bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn; and bankers Manafort allegedly defrauded. He also urged them to review the hundreds of emails, memos, financial records and other material prosecutors used to buttress their case.
"The star witness in this case is the documents," not Gates, Andres said.
He also said jurors did not need to like Gates, conceding that Manafort did not "choose a Boy Scout" to help with his alleged criminal schemes.
Gates was indicted on financial charges alongside Manafort in October, but he pleaded guilty in hopes of winning a lenient sentence and agreed to testify against his former boss.
Kicking off the defense argument, Manafort's lawyer insisted the prosecution had not met the necessary burden of proof and the jury should acquit him.
"Hold the government to its burden, ladies and gentlemen," Richard Westling told the jury. "That is what our system is built on."
He sought to counter the prosecution's depiction of Manafort's luxe lifestyle, including a $15,000 ostrich skin jacket, an $18,500 python skin jacket, and more than $330,000 in purchases from House of Bijan, a Beverly Hills clothing boutique that markets itself as the "world's most expensive store."
"We've seen a lot of lifestyle evidence in this case," said Westling. But he insisted the government had not shown that Manafort used proceeds from loans the prosecution said were fraudulently obtained in order to pay his living expenses.
Earlier, Andres ticked off details of the prosecution case, saying Manafort had stashed more than $60 million in 31 foreign accounts while working as a political consultant in Ukraine and avoided paying U.S. taxes on more than $15 million. He allegedly filed false tax returns for five years while using what Andres called a "huge dumpster of hidden money" to pay for an extravagant lifestyle.
Then, when Manafort's work in Ukraine ended in 2014 and his income dried up, he lied to three different banks to obtain more than $20 million in loans to avoid cutting back his exorbitant lifestyle, Andres said.
"Mr. Manafort lied to keep more money when he had it, and he lied to get more money when he didn't," Andres said. "He is not above the law."
A line of reporters and spectators snaked outside the federal courthouse in Alexandria three hours before proceedings began Wednesday, a sign of the intense interest in the first trial on charges brought by Mueller's team. The packed courtroom was nearly silent as Andres reviewed the 18 charges of tax evasion, bank fraud and conspiracy against Manafort.
Manafort conferred with his lawyers and watched documents flash across the monitor on his table as Andres spoke. Jurors appeared to pay close attention, their eyes locked on Andres or on notepads in front of them as they jotted down their thoughts.
Defense lawyers decided to rest their case Tuesday without calling any witnesses and Manafort confirmed to U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III that he would not testify in his own defense.
Ellis declined Tuesday to dismiss any of the charges after defense attorneys argued that prosecutors had failed to meet their burden of proof. Such motions are routine, and rarely granted.
Ellis said jurors should decide whether the evidence was material to the case and whether it showed Manafort willfully broke the law, a key legal hurdle.
"It's a jury issue," the judge said.
Once closing arguments are finished, Ellis will instruct the jurors on how they should consider the verdict. Lawyers for both sides hashed out the details for the jury instructions Tuesday afternoon.
Jury deliberations will then begin. Federal juries are required to reach unanimous decisions.
If convicted, Manafort, 69, could spend the rest of his life in prison. He also faces a second trial on related charges in federal court in Washington. Those proceedings are scheduled to begin on Sept. 17.
