Trump Will Not Testify in ‘Hush Money’ Trial; Defense Rests
The jury was sent home until May 28, when closing arguments are expected.
President Trump’s lawyers rested their defense Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
The jury was sent home until May 28, when closing arguments are expected. Mr. Trump did not stop to speak as he left the courthouse and ignored a question about why he wasn’t testifying.
After more than four weeks of testimony, jurors could begin deliberating as soon as next week to decide whether Mr. Trump is guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Prosecutors have accused Mr. Trump of a scheme to bury negative stories to fend off damage to his 2016 presidential campaign and then falsifying internal business records to cover it up.
Mr. Trump, the first former American president to be tried criminally, has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing in the case, which he has slammed as politically motivated.
Attorney Robert Costello returned to the stand Tuesday morning after a contentious period on the stand a day earlier, which briefly led to the judge clearing the courtroom after admonishing Mr. Costello for his behavior.
The defense’s calling of Mr. Costello as a witness was a source of discord for lawyers on both sides, with the prosecution arguing that he shouldn’t be allowed to testify at all. The judge ultimately permitted the defense to question him about two allegedly inconsistent statements in Michael Cohen’s testimony and to “offer some rebuttal” to his testimony.
Prosecutors rested their case Monday after Cohen concluded his testimony. Cohen spent nearly four full days on the witness stand, placing the former president directly at the center of the alleged scheme to stifle negative stories to fend off damage to his White House bid.
Among other things, Cohen told jurors that Trump promised to reimburse him for the money he fronted and was regularly updated about efforts to silence women who alleged sexual encounters with him. Trump denies the women’s claims.
https://www.nysun.com/article/trump-will-not-testify-in-hush-money-trial-defense-rests
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