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Trump Legal Investigations / Re: Live Thread: Trump's hush money trial begins in NYC
« Last post by mystery-ak on Today at 01:20:51 pm »DAY 20
Robert Costello, a former adviser to ex-fixer Michael Cohen, has been called as the defense’s second and potentially last witness in the case, in which Trump is charged with falsifying business records.
Tuesday could also see Trump’s defense rest its case. Trump’s team has also once again sought the dismissal of charges, which was left unresolved by the judge for now.
Trump’s potential expert witness confirmed he will no longer take the stand, citing the judge’s ruling restricting the scope of his testimony.
The defense had wanted to call Brad Smith, a former commissioner at the Federal Election Commission (FEC), to testify about campaign finance law.
But the judge severely limited the topics he can discuss to avoid a “battle of the experts”: Prosecutors would’ve called a rebuttal expert and the judge would’ve then given jurors his own instructions on applying the law, creating three sets of competing interpretations.
“Judge Merchan has so restricted my testimony that defense has decided not to call me. Now, it’s elementary that the judge instructs the jury on the law, so I understand his reluctance,” Smith wrote on social platform X.
“But the Federal Election Campaign Act is very complex,” Smith added.
He asserted that prosecutors elicited incorrect statements of law from their star witness, Michael Cohen, also accusing the judge of bias.
-Zach Schonfeld
Robert Costello, a former adviser to ex-fixer Michael Cohen, has been called as the defense’s second and potentially last witness in the case, in which Trump is charged with falsifying business records.
Tuesday could also see Trump’s defense rest its case. Trump’s team has also once again sought the dismissal of charges, which was left unresolved by the judge for now.
Trump’s potential expert witness confirmed he will no longer take the stand, citing the judge’s ruling restricting the scope of his testimony.
The defense had wanted to call Brad Smith, a former commissioner at the Federal Election Commission (FEC), to testify about campaign finance law.
But the judge severely limited the topics he can discuss to avoid a “battle of the experts”: Prosecutors would’ve called a rebuttal expert and the judge would’ve then given jurors his own instructions on applying the law, creating three sets of competing interpretations.
“Judge Merchan has so restricted my testimony that defense has decided not to call me. Now, it’s elementary that the judge instructs the jury on the law, so I understand his reluctance,” Smith wrote on social platform X.
“But the Federal Election Campaign Act is very complex,” Smith added.
He asserted that prosecutors elicited incorrect statements of law from their star witness, Michael Cohen, also accusing the judge of bias.
-Zach Schonfeld
