The Crown case against Eddie Obeid is built on "mere speculation" and the jury should return a not guilty verdict against the former NSW Labor minister, his barrister has told the jury in his criminal trial.
Mr Obeid's barrister Brad Hughes, SC, said in his closing address to the jury in the Darlinghurst Supreme Court on Friday that the case against his client had "just not been proved".
"What is it actually that the Crown has established, beyond mere speculation and suspicion?" Mr Hughes said.
The jury is expected to begin its deliberations as early as Monday, after Justice Robert Beech-Jones delivers his summing up.
Mr Obeid, 72, is accused of misconduct in public office for failing to reveal to a senior maritime bureaucrat, Steve Dunn, that his family had a secret interest in two Circular Quay cafes when lobbying him in 2007 about the plight of waterfront leaseholders.
The family wanted the leases renewed without competing in a public tender.
The Crown has alleged he "duped" Mr Dunn into believing he was acting in the interests of constituents at Circular Quay when he was motivated by personal financial gain.
The defence has said Mr Obeid did "no more" than ask Mr Dunn to meet a commercial negotiator who was acting for a group of disgruntled tenants at Circular Quay and did not advocate a particular result.
"How is there any misconduct in that approach?" Mr Hughes asked.
"What he did was to leave Mr Dunn to do his job."
He said it may have been "unconventional" for the backbencher to approach the bureaucrat directly but there was no "serious breach of duty" or "departure of any magnitude" from what ought to have been done.
The Supreme Court has heard Mr Obeid was an effective minister and a devoted family man - claims the Crown has used to suggest he used his influence to secure a benefit for his family.
"The Crown would have you believe that every positive in this case is a negative," Mr Hughes said.
Mr Obeid's "positives" should not be "held against him in some unclear fashion".
While the maritime authority later adopted a policy to renew Circular Quay leases in the first instance without a tender, Mr Hughes said "Mr Obeid did nothing to change the policy. He did nothing to engineer it."
