Former President Donald Trump’s defense has rested in the New York business records trial, and closing arguments are set for Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Trump’s defense rested after finishing questioning Michael Cohen’s former adviser, Robert Costello, shortly after court commenced, as the Hill noted. Jurors will have a full week off before hearing the arguments, as Justice Juan Merchan set closing arguments for Tuesday, May 28.
Merchan cited Memorial Day as a factor in his decision to set closing arguments on May 28, saying, “There is no way we can do what needs to be done in any cohesive manner” before the holiday.
He expects the prosecution and defense’s arguments to last a day and “hopes deliberations will start on Wednesday, May 29,” as the New York Times noted.
Per the Hill, Trump’s team and prosecutors are set to meet later in the day “to debate proposed charges, referring to the legal instructions the judge gives jurors before they begin deliberations.”
Trump ultimately did not testify when the defense presented its case. It was unclear in the lead-up to Tuesday whether he would testify, with one of his attorneys, Todd Blanche, telling Merchan Trump had not decided if he would take the stand.
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the case, which was brought by Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg’s office alleges Trump committed these offenses by concealing an alleged $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Prosecutors’ case took a hit during Cohen’s cross-examination, as the disgraced former attorney admitted Monday to stealing tens of thousands from the Trump organization, as Fox News reported.
Moreover, Blanche worked on Thursday to discredit Cohen’s testimony that he informed Trump about the alleged payment to Daniels on a phone call through his bodyguard, Keith Schiller. Blanche strongly suggested that the less than two-minute-long call was actually about harassing phone calls Cohen received from a teen prankster and accused him of lying on the stand.
Trump, whom Merchan has hit with a sweeping gag order preventing him from talking publicly about key witnesses like Daniels and Cohen, has maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
