"Conrad is different - different from you and me. He is a rich man. But in America you do not convict people for being rich," Mr. Greenspan said.

The Canadian lawyer asked prosecutors why they had highlighted such evidence about Lord Black's as "heated towel racks, champagne and caviar". He told jurors: "They want to convict Conrad not on the facts of the case but on his wealth, lifestyle and vocabulary".
"You cannot hold it against him that he wrote a book on FDR (former US president Franklin D Roosevelt) or that his dinner guests include Mayor Bloomberg (of New York), Henry Kissinger and Donald Trump.

There has been prejudice in this trial. Outside that door, you may resent someone, you may dislike someone because of their lifestyle, you may make decisions because of your personal feelings about someone," the lawyer said. "But here (in court) everyone is equal. You cannot resent someone. You cannot dislike someone for their lifestyle. You cannot make decisions based on your personal feelings."

Lord Black is suspected of embezzlement of more than $US60 million in fraudulent "non-compete" payments from the newspaper group that he ran, which was once third-largest in the world. However, he denies all the charges.

As it was expected, Mr. Greenspan attacked David Radler, the Government's major witness and Lord Black's longtime second-in-command. He recalled that Mr. Radler, testifying under a plea deal in exchange for a lenient 29-month sentence, had admitted lying to prosecutors.

"David Radler is all they have got. The Government did not have a smoking gun because there isn't one," Mr. Greenspan said. He added that Mr Radler's testimony consisted of "a few telephone calls" with Lord Black.

"Those alleged calls are the sum total of the prosecution's evidence against Conrad Black regarding the 'non-competes'," he said. "There is not one memo, one fax, one piece of paper, one shred of independent evidence that those calls occurred."

Mr. Greenspan suggested that the three high-profile members of the company's audit committee - James Thompson, the former Illinois Governor, Richard Burt, a former US Ambassador to Germany, and Marie-Josée Kravis - had a motive to lie to the court because they fell down on their audit responsibilities.

Mr. Greenspan questioned the jury: "We have been sitting here for 14 weeks . . . Where are these victims?"

The jury's deliberations will start early next week. - Alla Harutyunyan for HULIQ.COM