NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s hush money trial is entering its final stages, with the prosecutor’s final witness and star witness returning to the stand Monday before the former president’s lawyers have a chance to make their case. Further investigation will be carried out.
The landmark trial resumes in Manhattan with additional defense cross-examination of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, whose pivotal testimony last week directly linked the president to the hush money scandal. He is the last prosecution witness, and it is not yet clear whether Mr. Trump’s lawyers, let alone the Republican presidential nominee himself, will call witnesses.
Defense attorneys have already spent hours questioning Cohen about his criminal history and past lies aimed at painting him as a serial hoaxer waging a revenge campaign aimed at overthrowing Trump.
After more than four weeks of testimony about sex, money, tabloid conspiracies and the details of Trump’s corporate record-keeping, jurors could find Trump guilty of falsifying business records in his first criminal trial as early as this week. Deliberations could begin to determine whether he is guilty of 34 felonies. Former US President.
The charges stem from internal records at the Trump Organization where payments to Cohen were recorded as legal fees, and prosecutors say they were actually paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels for $130,000. He claims it was a refund for hush money.
Mr. Trump has maintained his innocence. His lawyers argue there was nothing criminal about the contract with Daniels or the way Cohen was paid.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is expected to halt the case once Cohen steps down from the stand, but if Trump’s lawyers present their own witnesses, prosecutors will be able to bring in rebuttal witnesses. You’ll get a chance to call.
The judge has instructed lawyers to prepare for closing arguments as early as Tuesday, but the timing depends on whether the defense calls witnesses and is not obligated to do so. Trump’s defense team said he had not yet decided whether he would testify.
Defense attorneys are generally reluctant to put their clients on the witness stand and expose them to intense questioning by prosecutors. Because it often does more harm than good.
Mr. Cohen is the prosecution’s most important witness, but he is also a vulnerable person.
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The now-disbarred lawyer has admitted on the stand that he has made false statements under oath and other lies, many of which he claims were to protect Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen served time after pleading guilty to a variety of federal charges, including lying to Congress and banks and campaign finance violations related to the hush-money scheme.
And he has made millions of dollars with critical books about the former president, often slamming the president with profanity on social media.
Cohen told jurors that Trump tried to get Daniels close to the end of his 2016 presidential campaign to prevent him from going public with claims that Daniels had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006. He said he was closely involved in the scheme to pay the money. President Trump insists there was nothing sexual between the two.
Cohen told jurors about his meetings and conversations with Trump. These included a 2017 meeting in which Mr. Cohen discussed how Mr. Trump and then-Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg discussed Mr. Cohen’s plans for payments to Mr. Daniels. The company stated that they discussed whether to collect the money and how to request reimbursement. legal services. “
Cohen, who is known for his temper, remained largely calm on the stand despite sometimes intense questioning from the defense about his wrongdoing and the allegations in the case.
A key moment came Thursday, when defense attorney Todd Blanche accused Cohen of lying about the purpose of the call to Trump’s bodyguard, days before Cohen transferred $130,000 to Daniels’ attorney. .
Cohen told jurors that he discussed hush money payments with Trump on that phone call. Blanche confronted Cohen via text message, claiming that Cohen had actually been talking to Trump’s bodyguard about harassing phone calls from teenage pranksters.
“That was a lie. You didn’t talk to President Trump that night…can you admit that?” Blanche asked.
“No, you can’t do that,” Cohen replied, adding that he believed he had also spoken to Trump about the Daniels deal.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers are working with Republican law professor Bradley A. Smith, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton to the Federal Election Commission, to refute prosecutors’ claims that the hush money payments amounted to campaign finance violations. He said there is a possibility that he will be summoned.
But Judge Juan M. Marchan has limited what Mr. Smith can mention, and the defense may ultimately decide not to subpoena Mr. Smith.
Surrounding expert testimony on legal matters is the Guardrails are often installed.
Machan ruled that Smith could provide general background on the FEC, the laws it enforces, and definitions of terms such as “campaign contributions.” However, we cannot interpret how federal campaign finance laws apply to the facts of Mr. Trump’s case or opine on whether the former president’s alleged actions violate those laws.
