Former President Donald Trump's defense rested its case at his "hush money" trial on Tuesday, opening the final chapter of proceedings before the jury begins deliberations next week.
The former president had hinted for weeks that he might take the stand, and has railed against the judge's gag order limiting what he can say outside the courtroom about the witnesses who testified against him.
What to Know:
Donald Trump Jr. attends trial for the first time
Eric Trump has long been the only member of Trump's family to attend the trial, sitting in the front row on several occasions.
Today, one of Trump's other adult sons showed up: Donald Trump Jr. took the seat often occupied by Eric.
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Costello returns to the stand
A day after being chastened by the judge, who asked if Costello was "staring me down," Costello has been called back to the stand.
Costello's antics Monday caused Merchan to take the extremely rare move of clearing the courtroom of all members of the public. He then threatened to strike Costello's entire testimony, according to a transcript of the exchange.
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Costello goes over emails with Cohen from 2018
Under cross-examination by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, Costello walked through a series of emails he sent to Cohen over a course of several months in 2018.
Many of them referenced Costello's conversations with Giuliani, Trump's newly named personal attorney, including one in which Costello says he can be a "back channel" to Giuliani. In another, he told Cohen he was "loved" and has "friends in high places."
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Trump's defense rests, signaling start of trial's final chapter
The defense was largely focused on cross-examining witnesses called by prosecutors during the last month, honing in on attacking Daniels' and Cohen's motivations and credibility.
After saying for months that he intended to testify in his own defense, Trump decided not to. He remained seated at the defense table Tuesday, as he has been throughout the trial.
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Judge lays out the schedule for the final phase of the trial
The court is adjourned until 2:15 p.m. At that point, attorneys for both sides will deliberate over the instructions the judge will give the jury on the law and how to determine a verdict. The jury is not present for those arguments.
The instructions, known as a jury charge, are often lengthy, with the judge explaining complicated legal concepts and a weighty set of decisions in a way that any layperson might understand. His exact words are parsed carefully by both defense attorneys and prosecutors, who want to ensure that they don't lose the case on this last matter.
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