Former President Donald Trump sits with attorneys Emil Bove and Todd Branch during his criminal trial at New York State Supreme Court in New York City on May 21, 2024.Photo by Justin Lane/Pool, via Reuters
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers suspended their defense Tuesday in New York’s hush-money criminal trial without the former president taking the witness stand, leaving the trial set for the moment a jury begins deciding his fate. approached.
read more: What we know so far about the Trump hush money scandal and what you should hear in its final days
President Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche told the judge, “Your honor, the defense rests” following testimony from a former federal prosecutor called to attack the credibility of the prosecution’s key witness.
Jurors were sent home until May 28, when closing arguments are scheduled, but lawyers are expected to return later Tuesday to discuss how the judge will direct jurors to deliberate. Trump, the first former US president to face a criminal trial, did not stop speaking as he left the courtroom and ignored questions about why he was not testifying. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has previously said he wants to take the witness stand to defend himself against what he claims are politically motivated charges.
After more than four weeks of testimony, jurors could begin deliberating as early as next week to decide whether the former president is guilty of 34 felonies for falsifying business records.
After the defense rested, Judge Juan M. Marchan told jurors that the court could reconvene later Tuesday to reconcile both the prosecution and defense totals. This will be the last time the jury hears from either side. Marchan told jurors he expected deliberation instructions to take about an hour, after which he expected to begin arguing the case as early as May 29 next year. Do not attend court and discuss the case among yourself.
Marchan said he expects the count in this case, which would normally take place immediately after the defense rests its case, to take at least a day, given the impending Memorial Day holiday. , before pointing out that “there is no way to do everything that needs to be done.” after that.
“See you in a week,” Marchan said.
Prosecutors accuse President Trump of plotting to bury negative stories against Democrat Hillary Clinton in order to avoid damage in the 2016 presidential election, and of falsifying internal business records to cover it up. are doing. Trump has maintained his innocence and denied any wrongdoing on his part in the case.
The charges are based on Trump Organization internal records showing payments to Cohen as legal fees. Prosecutors said it was actually repayment of $130,000 in hush money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public with her claims of a sexual relationship with Trump before the 2016 election. It states that it was. Trump has said there was nothing sexual between them.
“They don’t have a case,” Trump said Tuesday morning before the court adjourned. “There is no crime.”
After the jury sat out Monday, the defense pressed the judge to dismiss the charges before the jury began deliberations, arguing that prosecutors had not proven their case. The defense has suggested that Trump was trying to protect his family, rather than his campaign, by stifling his false and absurd claims.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche said the company’s efforts include publishing positive articles about Trump, negative articles about his opponents, and identifying potentially harmful articles before they are published. He argued that asking tabloids for cooperation is not illegal. Blanche said his associates had “no criminal intent.”
read more: Why President Trump’s defense of hush money depends on destroying Michael Cohen’s credibility
“How can it be a crime to continue hiding false stories from voters?” asked Blanche.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo countered that “the trial evidence overwhelmingly supports each element” of the alleged criminal conduct and said the case should proceed to a jury.
The judge did not immediately rule on the defense’s request. Such lengthy requests are made frequently in criminal cases but are rarely granted.
Long report from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Michelle Price in New York; Meg Kinard of Columbia, South Carolina; Eric Tucker and Alana Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.
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Former President Donald Trump sits with attorneys Emil Bove and Todd Branch during his criminal trial at New York State Supreme Court in New York City on May 21, 2024.Photo by Justin Lane/Pool, via Reuters
