Trump's lawyers rest case, don't call him to testify

Court adjourns for week, closing arguments slated to begin May 28 [2024]

By: Aysha Bagchi
and Bert Jansen
USA Today

..... On the final day of testimony, the defense answered one of the big questions hanging over the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president: will he - or won't he?
..... He won't. Former President Donald Trump did not take the stand in his own defense. His lawyers rested their case Tuesday [05/21/2024] after calling just two witnesses.
..... Trump initially said he would testify in his won defense, but subsequently backed out. he claimed he could not testify because of a gag order restricting his potentiality intimidating attacks on witnesses and jurors.
..... Judge Juan Merchan made clear that the order did not preclude Trump form testifying.
..... It made for a short day before a long break for the jury. Because the trial was scheduled to be off anyway Wednesday, [05/22/2024] Friday [05/24/2024and Monday, 05/27/2024] Merchan set closing arguments for May 28. [2024]
..... In contrast, the prosecution called about a dozen witnesses, most notably adult film actor Stormy Daniels, former lawyer Michael Cohen, former Trump aide Hope Hicks and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
..... Prosecutors allege that the presumptive GOP presidential nominee falsified records to cover up unlawfully interfering in the 20216 election thorough a hush money payments to Daniels made by Cohen.
..... Trump says he did not have sex with Daniels and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
..... Trump told reporters before entering the courtroom that Merchan should throw out the case for lack of evidence.
..... "I think it would be great for Judge Merchan to rule form the bench and determine that this is a witch hunt," trump said, joined for the first time by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
..... That echoed the argument his defense team made at the end of Monday. [05/20/2024] Trump lawyer Todd Blanche argued that Merchan should throw out the case because the business records weren't actually false: Cohen did provide Trump with 2017 legal services, as he invoiced.
..... And Blanche said the case should be tossed because Cohen's testimony should be axed, and the case couldn't stand without it.
..... "He not only lied repeatedly in the past under oath, but he lied in this courtroom," Blanche said.
..... Cohen was convicted in 2018 for lying to Congress and the FBI.
..... After fireworks Monday, [05/20/2024] when Merchan threatened to throw out defense witness Robert Costello's testimony for contemptuous conduct," Costello answered final questions quietly.
..... The defense brought in Costello to undermine Cohen's testimony that Trump authorized the Daniels payment and orchestrated the scheme to mislabel the payback checks.
..... Costello said on Monday [05/20/2024] that Cohen told him, "I swear to God, Bob, I don't have anything on Donald Trump."
..... Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger displaced a series of emails that appeared to be aimed at buttressing Cohen's testimony that Costello, a lawyer, pressured Cohen no to cooperate with federal investigators.
..... One email that Costello sent to his law partner seemed to refer to Cohen with an expletive" "What should I say to this a--hole? He is playing with the most powerful man on the planet."

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