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Dylan Stableford
The defense and prosecution have rested their cases, the jury has been dismissed for the week and closing arguments are set for next Tuesday. This is Yahoo News’ succinct update on the criminal and civil cases against Trump. Here are the latest developments.
🚨 What happened today
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger resumed cross-examination of Robert Costello, a lawyer who had advised Michael Cohen (Trump’s former lawyer and so-called fixer). Costello was reprimanded by Judge Juan Merchan on Monday for his disrespectful behavior on the witness stand.
The prosecution on Tuesday sought to undercut Costello’s previous testimony that he was only serving Cohen’s best interest — not Trump’s — in 2018 after news of the Stormy Daniels hush money deal came out.
Cohen previously testified he suspected Costello — whom he said was close with Trump’s then-lawyer Rudy Giuliani — only contacted him in 2018 to make sure he wouldn’t turn on Trump and cooperate with prosecutors at that time. Cohen testified he never had a retainer agreement with Costello, nor did he pay him for any legal services.
On Tuesday the prosecution displayed a series of Costello’s emails that aimed to show that he was manipulating Cohen at the direction of Trump’s then-lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Trump.
The defense rested its case after calling two witnesses. Trump did not testify, despite saying he would be willing to take the stand. The jury was then dismissed for the week.
Merchan then met with attorneys from the defense and prosecution Tuesday afternoon to review what can be included in the jury instructions, which affects how the jury will reach its verdict.
Prosecutors have charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records as felony charges because they claim those documents were used to conceal a second crime. That crime, the prosecution charges, is covering up the alleged reimbursement payments to Cohen as legal fees to suppress negative information to protect his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denies having an affair with Daniels in 2006.
🔬Zoom in
Costello’s emails: An email that Costello wrote to Cohen was entered into evidence by the prosecution in an effort to show the pressure campaign that they say he, Giuliani and Trump were putting on Cohen to discourage him from working with federal investigators after the hush money story broke.
“You are making a very big mistake if you believe the stories these ‘journalists’ are writing about you,” Costello wrote in the email, according to NBC News. “They want you to cave. They want you to fail. They do not want you to persevere and succeed. If you really believe you are not being supported properly by your former boss, then you should make your opinion known.”
The prosecution says another email between Costello and his law partner from May 2018 shows that Costello was not acting in Cohen’s best interest, but rather Trump’s. “Our issue is to get Cohen on the right page without giving him the appearance that we are following instruction from Giuliani or the president,” the email read, according to CNN. “In my opinion, this is the clear correct strategy.”
Jury instructions: Known as a “charge conference,” the judge met with lawyers for the defense and prosecution Tuesday afternoon without the jury present to parse through what jurors should be advised before they begin deliberations. It’s often a complex, “in the weeds” process. The New York Times reported, for example, that it took about five minutes for all parties to decide whether to pluralize the word “crime.”
The judge will deliver these instructions to the jury next week after closing arguments.
Trump’s courthouse posse: Throughout the hush money trial, Trump’s allies have shown up at the Manhattan courthouse in a show of support for him. On Tuesday, Trump’s son Don Jr. attended the trial for the first time. Eric Trump has been the only other family member who has made an appearance at the trial. Trump’s entourage on Tuesday included former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, Sen. Eric Schmitt, Reps. Daniel Webster, Dan Meuser, Ronny Jackson, Troy Nehls, Dale Strong and Maria Salazar. His former aide Sebastian Gorka, former leader of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang in New York Chuck Zito, actor Joe Piscopo, and businessman Bill White were also in attendance at the Manhattan courthouse.
🗓 What’s next?
Now that the defense and prosecution have rested their cases, Merchan said the best thing to do was let the jury adjourn and return next Tuesday, May 28, when closing arguments will begin, according to NBC News. It’s possible the jury may reach a verdict by the end of next week.
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