Tuesday morning, five weeks later the first jurors were seated For Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial, the defense rested, with closing arguments and then jury deliberations scheduled for after Memorial Day weekend.
And although the possibility was raised, Mr. Trump did not testify.
Testimony began April 22 with a tabloid editor named by the prosecution, David Pecker, and ended with an attorney named by the defense, Robert Costello. In between were porn star Stormy Daniels; Mr. Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen; a former aide to Mr. Trump, Hope Hicks; and a host of lesser-known witnesses, mostly for the prosecution.
The former president is accused of falsification of 34 commercial files to hide Mr. Cohen’s repayment of a secret $130,000 payment he made to Ms. Daniels, who says she had sex with Mr. Trump in 2006. Mr. Trump, 77, has denied the accusations and the meeting. If convicted, he could face prison or probation.
Here are five takeaways from the 20th day of Mr. Trump’s trial.
Maybe the big defense witness wasn’t a good idea.
Mr. Costello, once an informal adviser to Mr. Cohen, remained on the stand Tuesday, following a rebuke Monday from Judge Juan M. Merchan, who said he had been “dismissive.”
Mr. Costello had been called by the defense to attack Mr. Cohen’s credibility, but under cross-examination, prosecutors sought to portray him as an agent of Mr. Trump, suggesting he was trying to prevent Mr. Cohen to cooperate with federal investigators. This included reading an email from Mr Costello saying he was trying to “put Cohen on the right page”.
The defense had hoped to cause irreparable damage to Mr Cohen – a key prosecution witness. We may also remember Mr. Costello’s choppy performance.
Trump spoke a lot, but not in court.
Mr. Trump’s vehemence has never been in question. During the trial, he regularly spoke outside the courtroom, including Tuesday, when he repeated refrains lambasting the trial and complaining about the courtroom temperature.
Although he called the lawsuit “election interference” and said it was hampering his campaign, Mr. Trump nevertheless attended rallies on weekends and holidays, as well as a little golf.
But after teasing his appearance on the stand, he refused to testify. And after breaching a silence order 10 times, he criticized cautiously, particularly after Judge Merchan threatened a prison sentence.
Trump’s entourage showed his attitude towards his party.
Republican politicians normally wouldn’t rally together to defend someone involved in a lawsuit sparked by a porn star’s history of extramarital sex. But Mr. Trump has a strong hold on his party, and right-wing luminaries have come out to support their presumptive presidential candidate.
Throughout the trial, visitors included several potential vice-presidential candidates – including Senator JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio, and Vivek Ramaswamy, who was once Mr Trump’s primary opponent – and a brood of Republican lawmakers. Mr. Trump’s son, Donald Jr., was also in attendance Tuesday; another son, Eric, was a regular. There was also a former leader of the New York chapter of the Hells Angels.
Many visitors then attacked witnesses, something Mr. Trump could not do because of the silence.
Perhaps the most notable participant was Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, who called the trial “corrupt” and a “sham.” This was a remarkable attack on the justice system by a staunch conservative who is second in line to the presidency – and an indication of Mr. Trump’s influence.
Some personalities have never been called to the stand.
As remarkable as some of the witnesses were, the absences were also interesting. A big name: Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who says she had an affair with Mr. Trump in 2006 and 2007. Mr. Trump denies this and she has not been called as a witness, although she said she kept an eye on the case.
Other frequently mentioned invisible figures include Keith Schiller, the former president’s bodyguard, and Dylan Howard, former editor of the National Enquirer, who suffered from a health condition that prevented him from traveling from the Australia.
Both could have told interesting stories: Mr. Howard helped redeem and bury unflattering stories about Mr. Trump, including that of Ms. McDougal. He also participated in discussions about Ms. Daniels’ story.
Mr. Schiller was close to Mr. Trump and responded to a call from Mr. Cohen in which Mr. Cohen said he discussed Ms. Daniels with the former president. But Mr. Schiller was not subpoenaed by either the prosecution or the defense.
It will be at least a week before the jury begins deliberating.
Jurors will return May 28 for closing arguments, which Judge Merchan said would last all day. On Tuesday afternoon, attorneys argued over jury instructions, an important part of any trial.
After several hours of debate, during which both sides apparently gained some points, Judge Merchan said he would provide a final version of those instructions on Thursday.
Justice Merchan said he hoped deliberations would begin on May 29. And after hearing silently from 22 witnesses during 16 days of testimony, the jury’s verdict will be unprecedented: the first in the criminal trial of an American president.
