The prosecution rested on Monday, and today the defense rested, and Manafort will not take the stand. The courtroom was sealed for nearly two hours this morning, then reopened at about 11:30 a.m. with Manafort coming in 10 minutes later. The reason for the sealed court was not disclosed.
The case is being prosecuted by the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
1:50 p.m.: Jury returns, hears Manafort defense rest case, is dismissed
The jurors were called back to the courtroom shortly after 1:30 p.m., when they heard Manafort’s attorneys rest their case and say they would not be calling any witnesses. The defense lawyers had announced their intentions earlier with the jury out of the courtroom.
/3 If your defense case is marginal anyway, resting is a way to convey to the jury a level of confidence that the government has nothing. It's a way to emphasize that it's the government's burden. https://t.co/3n2q71JXVJ
— SituationRoomHat (@Popehat) August 14, 2018
Defense counsel for @PaulManafort just told me that the argument over the sealed motion in the #ManafortTrial will continue this morning. Seems like there may be some teeth to the defense motion, which I suspect is related to a mistrial motion for juror misconduct. @MSNBC
— Daniel S. Goldman (@danielsgoldman) August 14, 2018