Prosecution rests in trial of ex-Trump campaign boss

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Prosecutors on Monday rested their tax evasion and bank fraud case against Paul Manafort, a longtime Washington operator and President Trump’s former campaign chairman.

The case now goes to Manafort’s defense team, which is expected to lay the blame for wrongdoing on Rick Gates, the former Manafort protege who says the two committed crimes together. Defense attorneys have called Gates a liar, philanderer and embezzler as they’ve sought to undermine his testimony.

The trial is the first to emerge from Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the presidential election, but neither Manafort nor Gates have been charged in connection with their Trump campaign work.

Still, the proceedings have drawn international attention — as well as Trump’s — for what the case reveals about people in the combative president’s orbit as Mueller examines the same circles for any election interference or obstruction.

Trump has distanced himself from Manafort, who was chairman of the campaign from May to August 2016 — with Gates at his side. Gates struck a plea deal with prosecutors and provided much of the drama of the trial so far.

The government says Manafort hid around $16 million in income from the IRS between 2010 and 2014 by disguising money he earned advising politicians in Ukraine as loans and hiding it in foreign banks. Then, after his money in Ukraine dried up, they allege he defrauded banks by lying about his income on loan applications.

Gates said he helped Manafort commit crimes in an effort to protect Manafort’s finances. Defense attorneys called Gates a liar interested in avoiding jail time under a plea deal.