Manafort's lawyers blame Rick Gates in closing argument
by Melissa Quinn
& Kelly Cohen
| August 15, 2018 05:26 PM
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Lawyers for Paul Manafort on Wednesday tried to discredit the federal government’s case by asserting the special counsel’s office selectively prosecuted their client and relied on testimony from Rick Gates, a business associate who has admitted to committing criminal acts for his own financial gain.
Richard Westling and Kevin Downing of Manafort’s defense team also told jurors in their often erratic closing arguments that the federal government had not met the burden of proof to convict their client in the Eastern District of Virginia.
“Hold the government to that burden of proof,†said Westling.
The six-man, six-woman jury will now deliberate on whether to convict or acquit Manafort of some or all of the 18 criminal counts of tax and bank fraud he has been charged with by special counsel Robert Mueller.
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/manaforts-lawyers-blame-rick-gates-in-closing-argument
