Donald Trump, far left, watches as defense attorney Emil Bove questions Robert Costello, right, with Judge Juan Merchan presiding in Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 20, 2024, in New York.
After more than four weeks of testimony, jurors could begin deliberating as soon as next week to decide whether Trump is guilty of Costello turned to Judge Juan M. Merchan before the jurors arrived to the court, speaking quietly. The judge acknowledged him and nodded, a much more cordial scene than the drama that unfolded during Monday’s proceedings, when Costello made comments under his breath during testimony, rolled his eyes and called the whole exercise “ridiculous.” The antics angered Merchan, and the judge briefly kicked reporters out of the courtroom to admonish him.
The charges stem from internal Trump Organization records in which payments to Cohen were marked as legal expenses. Prosecutors say they were really reimbursements for a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actorto keep her from going public before the 2016 election with claims of a sexual encounter with Trump. Trump says nothing sexual happened between them.
The judge didn’t immediately rule on the defense’s request. Such long-shot requests are often made in criminal cases but are rarely granted.
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