Donald J. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial will enter its final phase on Monday with the prosecution poised to complete its case and the defense considering whether to call witnesses of its own.
It will be the trial’s sixth week, and is expected to begin with the prosecution’s last and most important witness still on the stand. The witness, Michael D. Cohen, has already testified over the course of three days, telling jurors that in 2015 he entered a conspiracy to suppress information damaging to the presidential campaign of his then-boss, Mr. Trump.
Mr. Cohen, who was Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer, suppressed one of those stories himself, paying $130,000 to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, just weeks before the election to bury her story of having had sex with Mr. Trump. After the election, Mr. Cohen testified, the president-elect approved a plan to reimburse him for the payment, knowing that the reimbursements would be classified as ordinary legal expenses.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has charged Mr. Trump with 34 felonies, arguing that what Mr. Cohen described was a crime: the falsification of business records.
Mr. Trump denies the sex and any wrongdoing. For two days, the defense has cross-examined Mr. Cohen about his past lies under oath, painting him as a mendacious rogue agent who is seeking revenge on Mr. Trump, the boss with whom he was once obsessed.
Once the cross-examination concludes Monday, each side will get another crack at Mr. Cohen. After the prosecution has an opportunity to question him again, so will the defense.
Then, after 19 witnesses and four-plus weeks of testimony, the prosecution is expected to rest. The defense will almost certainly ask the judge, Juan M. Merchan, to throw out the case, a standard move that is almost always rejected.
It remains unclear whether the defense will call any witnesses. Mr. Trump’s lawyers have raised the prospect of calling an expert to the stand, and they are considering questioning one of Mr. Cohen’s former legal advisers, Robert J. Costello. Mr. Costello, who had a falling-out with Mr. Cohen years ago, would most likely testify that he is a liar.
Mr. Trump is entitled to take the stand in his own defense, and has said he would like to, though people close to the case are skeptical that he will. Assuming Mr. Trump does not testify, the defense could rest early this week.
Justice Merchan has instructed both sides to have their closing arguments ready to deliver as soon as Tuesday. Justice Merchan will then instruct the jury on how to consider the charges against Mr. Trump. The judge will determine the exact wording of that instruction in the coming days, in one of the important decisions he will make.
Here’s what else to know about the first criminal trial of an American president:
-
Prosecutors have tried to blunt the assault on Mr. Cohen’s credibility, but the defense had many lines of attack available during cross-examination: Todd Blanche, Mr. Trump’s lead defense lawyer, asked Mr. Cohen about lying to a federal judge and making a false statement to Congress. Here’s what happened in court Thursday, the last day the trial was in session.
-
Prosecutors have introduced reams of circumstantial evidence that corroborate their case — including phone calls, text messages, emails and a photograph. That evidence, along with some very favorable laws underpinning the charges, have given the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, inherent advantages.
-
It is unclear when the jury will begin deliberating, but it could be as soon as this week. The jury will not be in court on Wednesday, for the typical midweek break, and there is no court on Friday. But Justice Merchan is starting the week a bit early: proceedings will begin at 8:45 on Monday, 45 minutes earlier than usual.