“I think a great case has been made… it should be thrown out even before a verdict is reached,” Trump said outside from court this Tuesday. “It’s very sad. But the good news is that they have not proven the case. There is no crime,” added the Republican, who aspires to return to the White House in the November elections.
He judge Juan Merchan announced that as of Next week the final arguments will take place and the deliberation of the jurors will begin. “On Tuesday (next) they will hear the arguments” of the defense and the prosecution, “and I hope they will begin to deliberate” the next day, Merchan told the jurors.
Historic trial against Donald Trump in the US: the jury will deliberate next week
The jury must decide whether Trump is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of 34 accounting falsifications related to the payment of $130,000 to former porn actress Stormy Danielsto buy his silence and avoid a possible sexual scandal at the end of the 2016 presidential campaign.
The actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims to have had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006, when he was already married to his current wife Melania. Donald Trump denies it.
Before the trial began on April 15, Trump, 77, had assured that he would testify to “tell the truth.” But he ultimately did not, as many experts predicted, probably to avoid ruthless cross-examination by the prosecution.
Donald Trump awaits the definition of the trial with his sights set on the elections
Although the trial is not being broadcast live on TV due to New York lawthe imminent verdict represents a delicate moment for Trump, who will face Democrat Joe Biden again at the polls in less than six months.
The jury’s decision must be unanimous, both to acquit and convict, otherwise the trial is annulled. If convicted, Trump could still run for president.
The interrogations ended this Tuesday with the second defense witness, the attorney Robert Costello, a veteran of the courts who the day before questioned the version of the main accuser, the Trump’s former personal lawyer and confidant, Michael Cohen.
Costello, which had begun to declare on Monday, made Judge Merchan go crazy, for which he was reprimanded and called to order. “We have a judge who is extremely… let’s say complicated, but also conflicted,” Trump said Tuesday.
Throughout the process, Trump’s lawyers have sought to discredit former lawyer Cohen, portraying him as a jilted former employee seeking revenge. Cohen directly incriminated his former boss, claiming that he handled the payment to Daniels and Trump approved his repayment.
For the prosecution, the central issue is that this transfer was camouflaged as “legal expenses” in the accounts of the Trump Organization.. The former president’s defense, for its part, emphasized the record of Cohen, who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for lying to Congress and electoral and tax fraud for this case.
The trial interspersed more technical moments and more effervescent ones, especially with the testimony of the former porn actress Danielsthat He recounted in great detail the alleged sexual encounter with the president, revealing the clothes he was wearing, the sexual position and that he did not use a condom.
Another witness whose version coincides with Cohen’s was that of David Pecker, the once tabloid editor who claimed to have worked with Trump and Cohen to suppress negative coverage of the White House hopeful during his first campaign and buy the silence of other whistleblowers.
Trump maintains that the process is political and has complained on several occasions that the obligation to appear at the New York court hearings is preventing him from campaigning.
“I’m not “allowed to do any politics, because I’ve been sitting in a cold, dark (court) room for the last four weeks. It’s very unfair,” he told reporters on Monday.
Source: Ambito
