Trump will not testify in New York hush-money trial as defence rests
Al Jazeera
Weeks of witness testimony have ended, with closing statements scheduled for next week before jury deliberates.
More than four weeks of witness testimony in the New York hush-money trial of former United States President Donald Trump have ended with the defence resting its case.
The development on Tuesday means that the trial will be put on pause until next week, when both the prosecution and the defence will give their closing arguments in the case, which is connected to payments allegedly made to an adult film star who said she had a sexual encounter with Trump.
Upon the resumption of the trial, the jury will deliberate on whether Trump is guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The end of witness testimony in the unprecedented trial also means that Trump will not be called to the witness stand by the defence, despite months of speculation that the bombastic former president might do so.
Since opening arguments began in the Manhattan court on April 22, prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office have sought to portray the falsification of business documents as part of a larger, illegal effort to manipulate the 2020 presidential election.
