Donald Trump’s legal team has rested its case in his hush money trial after calling just two witnesses and opting not to have the former president take the stand in his own defense
Donald Trump’s legal team rested its case Tuesday in his hush money trial after calling just two witnesses and opting not to have the former president take the stand in his own defense.
But despite what Hollywood courtroom dramas might suggest, that isn’t all that unusual, according to criminal defense lawyers and former prosecutors.
The reason is simple: Prosecutors need to prove their case, while the defense only has to show there’s reasonable doubt their client committed a crime. And defense lawyers don’t necessarily need to call different witnesses to knock holes in a prosecutor’s case.
“The burden is on the prosecution, and it’s a high burden,” said Sarah Krissoff, a white-collar defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor in New York.
Trump has been charged with falsifying records at his company in order to disguise the true nature of payments made in 2017 to one of his lawyers, Michael Cohen. Prosecutors say the money was for Cohen’s work suppressing negative stories about his boss during the 2016 presidential campaign, including one about an alleged sexual encounter with a porn actor, Stormy Daniels. Trump, who denies Daniels’ account, has said the company properly classified them as legal expenses.
Most of the work of defense lawyers, Krissoff and other experts said, happens during cross-examination of the prosecution’s witnesses, when they can challenge their testimony and credibility.
“The defense narrative comes through during cross-examination, then they will tie it all together during the closing statement,” she explained.
