Paul Manafort trial: Former Trump campaign manager’s lawyers rest case as closing arguments to be heard soon

The defence has rested its case in the trial of Paul Manafort, former 2016 campaign manager for Donald Trump, clearing the way for the jury to hear closing arguments.

Mr Manafort’s trial on several counts of tax evasion and bank fraud is almost over after his legal team did not call any witnesses to the stand in the federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

The former foreign political agent decided not to testify in what is the first trial related to the FBI investigation, led by special counsel Robert Mueller, of alleged collusion between Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign team and Russian officials.

The jury will now hear closing arguments from both sides and Judge TS Ellis will consider any motions to acquit the defendant.

His charges were not directly related to his work on the campaign but Mr Mueller and the prosecution claimed some of the fraudulent activity occurred while Mr Manafort served as the chairman.

Mr Manafort is accused, among other things, of hiding millions of dollars in more than 30 overseas bank accounts which he did not report on his personal taxes.

Prosecutors allege the $16m (£13m) came from pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians like Viktor Yanukovych, for whom Mr Manafort had done work until the politician fled to Moscow following the Russian invasion of Ukraine’s Crimea region.

His lawyers immediately attacked Mr Manafort’s campaign deputy and longtime business partner Rick Gates, claiming it was he who was responsible for the account management.

Mr Gates had pleaded guilty to the counts outlined in the October 2017 indictment.

During the trial, Mr Gates testified he helped Mr Manafort commit crimes in an effort to lower his tax bill while funding extravagant clothing, car, and real estate purchases.

Mr Gates was also forced to admit embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from Mr Manafort and conducting an extramarital affair in the course of his testimony.

The defence rested its case after more than two hours of closed-door proceedings.

Mr Ellis did not provide an explanation as to why he chose to bar media from that portion of the trial, but noted a transcript would be available after the case concludes.

Kevin Downing, one of Mr Manafort’s lawyers, told journalists they rested their case without any witness testimony "because [Mr Manafort] and his legal team believe that the government has not met its burden of proof".

However, just the day before Mr Ellis dismissed a motion by the defence to dismiss the case based on those grounds.

He said the defence made a “significant” argument in claiming Mr Manafort could not have defrauded the Federal Savings Bank of the millions in loans given to him because bank chairman Stephen Calk was aware of Mr Manafort’s massive debt and lack of income during the Trump campaign and still approved the loan.

Witnesses later testified Mr Calk had been seeking a political appointment from the incoming Trump administration.

Prosecutors rested their case on 13 August after a host of exhibits and witness testimony – including employees from high-end boutiques like House of Bijan and Alan Couture to illustrate Mr Manafort’s lavish lifestyle and spending using foreign account wire transfers rather than cash or credit cards.

As the case comes to a close, Mr Trump tweeted his apparent agitation at the over-arching FBI investigation, which he has repeatedly called a “witch hunt”.

The president has thus far maintained distance from Mr Manafort and Mr Gates, the latter who served on his campaign far longer and even into the transition team in January 2017.

Closing arguments are set to begin on 15 August.

Agencies contributed to this report