Donald Trump's Defense Rests; Jury Deliberations Next Week
NEW YORK (NEWSnet/AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers concluded their defense Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in a New York criminal trial that has taken about four weeks so far.
“Your honor, the defense rests,” Trump lawyer Todd Blanche told the judge after testimony from a former federal prosecutor who had been called to attack the credibility of the prosecution’s key witness.
The jury was sent home until May 28, when closing arguments are expected; but the attorneys are expected to return later Tuesday for meeting with the judge on jury instructions.
Trump did not stop to speak as he left the courthouse, ignoring a question about why he wasn’t testifying. He previously said he wanted to take the witness stand to defend himself.
The hush money case, formally known as People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, is the first of four criminal investigations pending against the former president to go to trial. This case involves 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors have accused 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.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing in the case.
The charges stem from internal Trump Organization records in which payments to Cohen were marked as legal expenses. Prosecutors say they were really reimbursements for a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public before the 2016 election with claims of a sexual encounter with Trump. Trump says nothing sexual happened between them.
After jurors left Monday, defense attorneys urged the judge to throw out the charges, arguing prosecutors have failed to prove their case.
The judge didn’t immediately rule on the defense’s request. Such requests are often made in criminal cases, but are rarely granted.
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