NEW YORK—In a somewhat anti-climatic day of testimony and discussion, the defense representing former President Donald Trump in his hush money trial surrounding a payment made to adult star Stormy Daniels rested their case a day after prosecutors for the Manhattan District Attorney's office rested theirs.
This marks the end of principal testimony and the introduction of evidence by both the defense and prosecution teams. The trial is in its final days. Trump was not called to the witness stand after many observers in the news media speculated whether he would tell his side of the story. After the defense rested its case, much of the day was spent discussing jury instructions.
Criminal defendants typically do not testify, it bears noting. Doing so exposes defendants to probing questions from prosecutors and could count against those people during the deliberations of the jury. Trump kept trolling that he was going to set the record straight and defend himself, but his defense team might have avoided a disaster. During the trial, Trump has been fined 10 times for violating a standing gag order preventing him from criticizing and intimidating individuals such as Stormy Daniels, the jury and other witnesses for the prosecution.
Judge Juan Merchan and counsel for the prosecution and defense debated how the jury would be instructed when deliberating a potential verdict. These details are quite technical, but necessary. The judge instructs the jury to rule on specific elements of the case, including how to potentially deal with bias and influences from outside sources. Details will be final for the instructions to the jury by Thursday of this week, Merchan said. This means that prosecutors and the defense can use the long Memorial Day weekend to generate summations and closing arguments scheduled for next Tuesday. Once the jury is sequestered, deliberations could take several days. If the jury cannot agree on a verdict, then a mistrial will be declared, and Merchan could allow prosecutors to once again bring the case with adjustments in their evidence, the crimes Trump is accused of, and other elements. There is no way to predict whether the jury will find Trump guilty or not guilty. If he is found guilty, Trump will most likely appeal the verdict through the New York judicial system, which could take months.
Nothing in the U.S. Constitution says that a convicted felon cannot run for president. Even if found guilty, he may be allowed some type of supervised release while he appeals. For all of his indictments at the state and federal level, Trump hasn't been convicted of a crime in his life. This would be a first offense if he's found guilty. Trump will not be able to pardon himself either. Barring the fact that a president issuing a self-pardon has never been tested in a federal court, the conviction of a state criminal felony cannot be dismissed by him. Only the governor of New York, current Democrat Kathy Hochul, can pardon Trump if he is found guilty in the trial at hand.
Defense counsel representing Trump, led by attorney Todd Blanche, argued that their client broke no law and that paying hush money to someone isn't a crime. Blanche and his fellow defense attorneys argued that the charges and the case are politically motivated, the direct result of a disgruntled former employee, and the lies of an adult star who has simply profited off the telling of an affair.
Prosecutors brought the case because they found evidence pointing to an organized conspiracy that involved tabloid publishers, former and current Trump Organization employees, former and current Trump campaigns, and White House staff. This colorful cast of witnesses is led not by Stormy Daniels or Karen McDougal (the former Playboy model who also was paid a large sum to remain silent about her own affair with Trump), but Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen. Cohen testified as the prosecution's chief witness due to his conviction for tax evasion, financial crimes and campaign finance violations—all felonies. As a result of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry into Russian and other unlawful interference in the outcome of the 2016 election, Cohen pleaded guilty to a variety of crimes that directly and indirectly benefited Trump and his win over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. One such crime was paying $130,000 to an "adult film actress," per Department of Justice filings.
Throughout much of the trial, the payment of $130,000 to the "adult film actress," identified as AVN Hall of Famer Stormy Daniels, was part of a catch-and-kill scheme instigated by Trump and his campaign in 2016. David Pecker, the former publisher of the tabloid National Enquirer, testified earlier in the trial that Trump, his long-time friend, asked him to identify and silence any stories that could harm the then-Republican candidate's reputation ahead of the 2016 election. Pecker agreed and coordinated these efforts with Cohen, who served as a personal attorney for Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization. Pecker, with input from Cohen and Trump's team, negotiated an agreement with Keith Davidson, a Los Angeles-based attorney, who was representing McDougal. McDougal claims that she had an affair with Trump from 2006 to 2007. Most notably, McDougal reiterated these claims in a report on the affair by Ronan Farrow for The New Yorker in 2018. Pecker negotiated with Davidson on behalf of McDougal and agreed to settle with a non-disclosure agreement and $150,000.
A non-prosecution agreement was reached between the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and American Media Inc., the defunct parent company of the National Enquirer, along with Pecker, indicating that the company paid $150,000 to a woman who had "damaging allegations" against a candidate for president during the 2016 election.
Implemented in September 2018, the agreement was used as evidence against Trump in this trial. Keith Davidson testified during the trial to these details. It is worth noting that virtually everything used against Trump by the prosecution stems from other cases, including the criminal case against Cohen, the non-prosecution agreement against Pecker and American Media Inc., a civil fraud case against the Trump Organization, and the New York criminal case against former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg.
Davidson also testified during the trial that he eventually represented Stormy Daniels in negotiations with Cohen. Daniels and Trump both signed a settlement using pseudonyms and agreed to a sum of $130,000 for her silence. Cohen testified that he borrowed the money against his home's equity line of credit to hide the sum from his wife. Davidson accepted the payment on Daniels' behalf via a shell corporation created by Cohen to circumvent any potential regulatory or legal scrutiny over the payments. Pecker even testified that he thought the payments to Daniels and McDougal violated federal campaign finance laws. Others who have testified include Trump campaign and White House staffer Hope Hicks, a banker who worked with Cohen to arrange the payments, Daniels herself, and others. The defense cross-examined a total of 20 witnesses for the prosecution. The defense only called a total of two.
No further proceedings are expected until the trial resumes with closing arguments next Tuesday, May 28.
