Trump chooses not to testify in his criminal trial
NEW YORK
Lawyers defending Donald Trump in his criminal trial in Manhattan rested their case Tuesday after calling just two witnesses – neither of them the former president – setting the stage for closing arguments next week. The judge overseeing the case said he hoped that the jury of 12 New Yorkers could begin deciding Trump’s guilt or innocence next Wednesday.
Over more than five weeks of testimony, prosecutors presented 20 witnesses including Michael Cohen, Trump’s onetime fixer, who made a $130,000 hush-money payment to a porn actor on the eve of the 2016 election. Trump’s reimbursement of Cohen is at the center of the 34 felony counts against the former president.
The felony charges against Trump stem from repayments to Cohen after he made a hush-money deal with Daniels, who said she wanted to go public with her account before the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors used Cohen’s testimony to bolster the charges against Trump of falsifying business records to conceal the repayments and to hide the deal. Trump has said he did not have sex with Daniels and denied any wrongdoing.
Here’s what to know about the trial:
Key testimony: The
● final witness to testify was Robert Costello, who was once an informal legal adviser to Cohen. Prosecutors sought to portray him as having actually acted as an agent of
Trump, trying to keep Cohen from cooperating with investigators following a 2018 raid by federal agents. Prosecutors displayed for the jury an email in which Costello complained about Cohen, saying he was “playing with the most powerful man on the planet.”
Costello had been expected to be used by the defense to attack the credibility of Cohen, but after he first took the stand Monday attention quickly turned to Costello himself. That shift started after prosecutors objected to a question, and Costello protested the situation under his breath.
Judge Juan M. Merchan rebuked him, reminding him that the judge is the only person who could strike testimony from the record. “Are you staring me down?” the judge demanded before clearing the courtroom of the jury, reporters and other onlookers – but not Trump’s allies.
Jurors get an extra
● long break: Merchan dismissed the jury after Costello’s testimony wrapped up Tuesday morning, telling them they did not have to return to court until the Tuesday after the long Memorial Day weekend. He reminded them to not discuss the case or read the news about the trial in the meantime.
Cohen’s testimony:
●
Cohen spent days on the stand, describing for jurors an agreement between himself, Trump and the longtime publisher of The National Enquirer, David Pecker, to suppress negative stories about Trump. Regarding Daniels’ account, he testified that Trump had instructed him to “just take care of it.” He described making the payment and the arrangement to be reimbursed by Trump – including an Oval Office meeting where he said the plan was confirmed.
The former president’s defense team portrayed Cohen as a perpetual liar who is seeking revenge against Trump.
Trump’s retinue: The
● entourage accompanying Trump to court Tuesday included his eldest son, Don Jr., for the first time since the trial began. Chuck Zito, a former leader of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang in New York City who spent years in prison on drug charges, was expected to be on hand for a second straight day.