Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team rested its case on Monday against Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, who is facing tax evasion, bank fraud and money laundering charges.
The trial, the first of two Manafort faces, is in its tenth day in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, and is expected to resume on Tuesday morning. Manafort is accused of failing to report millions of dollars that he was paid for political consulting work in Ukraine, before he briefly served as Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016. The charges do not involve Manafort’s time with Trump.
The trial is the first to arise from Mueller’s investigation into purported Russian interference in the 2016 election. The defense is expected to make its case this week and call its witnesses to testify.
Over the course of 10 days, the prosecution called a slew of witnesses, from Manafort’s accountant to business partners to bank executives who approved his loan applications, to make its case that Manafort failed to report millions, and then lied to potential lenders when he needed more money. Prosecutors said that from 2010 through 2014, Manafort earned $30,303,344 in personal income but reported less than half of that, $13,832,298, on his tax returns. Prosecutors allege that Manafort hid more than $16 million from the IRS and spent it on luxury items, including home improvements, antiques, fancy suits and even a $15,000 ostrich jacket.
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