美国国家公共电台 NPR Prosecutors Conclude Arguments Against Paul Manafort In Bank And Tax Fraud Trial

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today, defense¹ lawyers get their opportunity in the trial of Paul Manafort. President Trump²'s former campaign chairman is on trial for bank and tax fraud, and prosecutors³ finished their case yesterday as NPR justice reporter Ryan Lucas looked on from the courtroom.

Hey there, Ryan.

RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE⁵: Hello. Good morning.

INSKEEP: How'd the prosecution⁶ finish its case?

LUCAS: Well, on Monday, jurors heard from James Brennan. He's an executive at the Federal Savings⁷ Bank. And this is a bank that loaned Manafort $16 million in late 2016 and early 2017. Now, Brennan was one of the government witnesses who was testifying under an immunity⁸ agreement. He said that he had concerns about Manafort's financials. But at least one of the loans that the bank gave Manafort was pushed through, Brennan said, because the bank's chairman, Steve Calk, wanted it approved.

Now, the jury heard last week from another executive with the same bank about how Calk became chummy with Manafort in 2016 and that Calk wanted a job in the Trump administration. So, in total, the government presented 27 witnesses over 10 days. And then right around 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon, prosecutor⁴ Greg Andres stood up in the courtroom and said, the government rests its case.

INSKEEP: OK. So I'm just thinking about that transaction you just detailed⁹. We have a suggestion that Paul Manafort used his position close to candidate and then President Trump to get a bank loan that he might not otherwise have gotten. That's one of many allegations. What does the prosecution's overall case add up to here?

LUCAS: Well, over the past two weeks, the government has worked to try to show that Manafort made millions of dollars from political consulting work in Ukraine, and then he hid a lot of that income in shell companies and bank accounts overseas, mostly in Cyprus. They say that when that income dried up after the Ukrainian leader that Manafort was working for was overthrown¹⁰ in a popular uprising - when that money stream ran out, the government says that Manafort started lying to U.S. banks to qualify for loans. And he did this, the government says, to maintain this high-rolling lifestyle that he was accustomed to.

Now, prosecutors called to the stand sellers of luxury menswear, owners of landscape companies, luxury car dealers¹¹ to testify to what Manafort spent his money on. They brought in accountants and bookkeepers to testify about his finances and what he told them and, more importantly, perhaps, what he withheld¹² - what information he withheld. There were representatives of the IRS and the Treasury¹³ to talk about money and tax returns. And then the last part of the case was bankers to testify about Manafort's loan applications. And throughout all of this, there was a substantial paper trail to back up the witness testimony¹⁴.

INSKEEP: And, of course, we got to see photos of his wardrobe along the way. What about the defense here? What is the case that can be made for Paul Manafort?

LUCAS: Well, the defense will have its chance to call witnesses if it wants to do so. We'll hear from Manafort's lawyers on that point today. There's also the question of whether Manafort will testify. We don't expect him to, but there's that option. Overall, though, the main crux¹⁵ of Manafort's defense has been that, sure, he may have made mistakes, but it wasn't intentional¹⁶; he wasn't intentionally¹⁷ breaking the law. And they say that any wrongdoing isn't his fault. Instead, they've tried to pin the blame on the government's star witness in this case. That's Manafort's former deputy, Rick Gates.

Now, Gates, you'll remember, was indicted¹⁸ alongside Manafort. He eventually pleaded guilty and became a cooperating witness, and he testified in this case against Manafort. Now, Gates was subjected to a very effective and I would say bruising¹⁹ cross-examination over the course of three days last week, and the aim was to tarnish²⁰ his credibility.

INSKEEP: Which is a useful point to remember - sometimes, you find a defense team that will decide to present no case and essentially²¹ argue that the prosecution didn't make its case.

LUCAS: Right. And the defense has actually put forward motions to have the charges tossed out. This is pretty standard. Manafort's lawyers say that they want to focus in particular on some of the bank fraud charges. They say the government really hasn't proven its case there. We'll hear from the judge on those this morning. And then we still have closing arguments and jury instructions, so still a little ways to go in this.

INSKEEP: Ryan, pleasure talking with you. Thanks very much.

LUCAS: Thank you.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Ryan Lucas.