Donald Trump Lawyers Rest Their Case in Porn Star Hush Money Trial Without Former President Testifying

Donald Trump's porn star hush money trial is almost at an end as both the prosecution and the defense have now rested their case after Trump witness Robert Costello was grilled by prosecutors during his cross-examination.

Costello first took the stand on Monday and he was admonished by Judge Juan Merchan over his antics while on the stand. He continued his testimony on Tuesday with prosecutors managing to trip him up thanks to some emails the defense witness sent to the prosecution's star witness, Michael Cohen.

Costello initially claimed under oath that Cohen told him that Trump knew nothing about the hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. However, one of the prosecutors, Susan Hoffinger, managed to turn that testimony against him and presented the email.

In that email, it showed that Costello was trying to make sure that Cohen would not cooperate with prosecutors after the hush-money deal became public. This corroborated Cohen's previous sworn testimony that he was suspicious of Costello and claimed that the Trump-aligned lawyer was also trying to silence him, much like what he tried to do with Stormy Daniels.

In one email that was presented as evidence, Costello told his law partner, "Our issue is to get Cohen on the right page without giving him the appearance that we are following instructions from Giuliani or the president."

Prosecutor Hoffinger then noted that once Cohen turned on Trump by pleading guilty, Costello "lost control" of the former Trump attorney, with Costello denying this. This led to the exchange being more tense as Hoffinger attacked Costello's credibility, turning the tables on the former prosecutor-turned-Trump lawyer.

Donald Trump Did Not Testify To Defend Himself During the porn Star Hush Money Trial

While the prosecution presented a litany of witnesses to corroborate Michael Cohen's testimony, the defense rested its case after Costello's testimony and cross-examination. However, it was notable as Donald Trump, who despite vowing to testify multiple times, did not testify in the trial at all.

Trump has falsely claimed that the gag order was preventing him from testifying, but Judge Juan Merchan told him that he was mistaken, telling the defendant, "I want to stress, Mr. Trump, that you have an absolute right to testify at trial."

The Guardian noted that "Trump's legal team failed to land hard blows" during Cohen's cross-examination and moved to rest its case soon after Costello's time on the stand.

What Happens Next in the Donald Trump Hush Money Trial?

With both sides resting their respective cases. the Associated Press noted that the jury is scheduled to be off until next Tuesday and will return to court on the day after Memorial Day.

Judge Juan Merchan also noted that he had scheduled the defense and prosecution to present their respective closing arguments on Tuesday as well. Meanwhile, jury deliberations could start as early as Wednesday but it should be noted that these deliberations could be done as fast as a few hours or as long as over a month.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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