ALEXANDRIA, Va. _ A federal prosecutor lambasted President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman on Wednesday, telling a federal jury that Paul Manafort's finances were "littered with lies," and he should be convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud.
Greg Andres, a prosecutor from the office of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, kicked off his closing argument to the 12-member jury by describing Manafort as a serial liar who defrauded banks and the IRS of millions of dollars.
"This is a case about Mr. Manafort and his lies," Andres said.
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."
He said Manafort failed to pay taxes of $15 million that he hid in offshore accounts, and filed false tax returns for five years. He said the former Republican operative and lobbyist also secured $20 million in bank loans by making false statements.
"When you follow the trail of Mr. Manafort's money, it is littered with lies," he said.
Defense lawyers will present their own closing argument after Andres finishes, and the case will go to the jury. Manafort has been fighting 18 charges of tax evasion, bank fraud and conspiracy.
Defense lawyers are expected to paint the key prosecution witnesses as liars, especially Richard Gates, Manafort's former top deputy in business and in the Trump campaign. Gates pleaded guilty in the case in hopes of winning a lenient sentence, and agreed to testify against his former boss.
Over the last two weeks, prosecutors called about two dozen witnesses to outline what they described as Manafort's scheme to illegally hide tens of millions of dollars that he earned as a political consultant in Ukraine. They said he then committed fraud to obtain millions more in bank loans and mortgages when the work ended.
After defense lawyers decided to rest their case Tuesday without calling witnesses, Manafort confirmed to U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III that he would not testify in his own defense.
Ellis declined on 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.
