Defense attorneys in New York v. Trump rested their case Tuesday morning without calling former President Trump to the stand to testify.
The prosecution rested its case Monday, and Trump defense attorneys called two witnesses — paralegal Daniel Sitko and a former legal adviser to Michael Cohen, Robert Costello — before resting its case.
Judge Juan Merchan dismissed the jury until after Memorial Day.
Former President Trump sits in the courtroom during trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 21, 2024, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The next day, Tuesday, May 28, the jury will hear closing arguments from Trump defense attorneys and New York prosecutors.
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The jury is expected to deliberate starting either Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday after Memorial Day.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Prosecutors needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified those records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic performer, in the lead-up to the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
The former president has maintained his innocence.
Trump defense attorneys made a second attempt to dismiss the case Monday, and said no evidence had been presented by the prosecution to connect the former president to any falsification of business records. Defense attorneys motioned for dismissal after Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and the prosecution’s “star witness,” finished his testimony.
Former President Trump speaks to members of the media before entering the courtroom with his attorney Todd Blanche. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Cohen testified that he personally made the $130,000 payment to Daniels using a home equity line of credit in an effort to conceal the payment from his wife. Cohen said he did this because Trump told him to “handle it” and prevent a negative story from coming out ahead of the election.
But Trump’s defense attorneys maintained that the president never directed Cohen to do so.
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Cohen testified that he was “reimbursed $420,000” for the $130,000 he paid to Daniels. Cohen said former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg suggested he “gross up” the…
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