Welcome back, Deadline: Legal Newsletter Readers. Both the prosecution and defense rested this week in the case of People v. Donald Trump. Closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. It’s anyone’s guess how this historic case will turn out, so both sides (and the jury) are likely feeling the weight of the moment heading into Memorial Day weekend.
The week started with Michael Cohen on the stand as he concluded his cross-examination. Overall, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche landed some blows on his client’s former fixer, but nothing seemed to shake the foundation of the state’s case. Manhattan prosecutors rested after Cohen’s testimony, raising questions about whether the defense would call witnesses, including Trump himself.
Trump did not testify, which was a smart move considering the suspect’s tenuous relationship with the truth. But the defense called another bad witness: Robert Costello. The Trump-related lawyer apparently took the stand to destroy Cohen’s credibility. Still, his boorish behavior nearly landed him in contempt of Judge Juan Merchan, and the contents of his testimony didn’t fare much better. It might even have helped the prosecution.
The defense rested, and Merchan draft closing arguments for Tuesday. In the meantime, the sides argued over key jury instructions that will affect how they present their summations. Once the jury starts deliberating, we could get a verdict at any time – perhaps by next Friday’s newsletter.
In Trump’s other prosecutions, Judge Aileen Cannon held a hearing in the case involving classified documents. More than anything, the court action in Florida highlighted Cannon’s slow-moving approach to the case, one that is increasingly unlikely to be tried before the election. To understand why that is, see this recent New York Times op-ed by an ex-CIA lawyer, who details how badly Cannon has botched this serious prosecution.
The Georgia 2020 election interference It is also unlikely that there will be a pre-election trial in this case. It will be stuck on appeal in the near future. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her former special prosecutor (and former romantic partner) Nathan Wade appeared in primetime this week on MSNBC, with Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid. Both Willis and the judge who effectively disqualified Wade in the ruling under appeal, Scott McAfee, easily won their elections on Tuesday.
The fourth case, about alleged federal election interference, remains on ice. The Supreme Court issued new rulings this week — but not the immunity decision that kept the Jan. 6 case against the presumptive Republican nominee alive. We did get some relevant news when The Times reported on yet another flag flying outside an Alito home that was also carried by Capitol rioters on January 6. Naturally, this increased calls for at least Alito’s refusal from January 6 onwards. -related cases.
At leastIf he doesn’t return, Alito will have to explain his decision as he did in another case this term.
Alito did write two opinions published this week. One of these was the Roberts Court’s latest legal attack on voting. The 6-3 ruling, with the court’s Republican appointees in the majority, sided with South Carolina Republicans in a decision that makes racist gerrymandering even harder to prove. Writing for the three Democratic appointees who dissented, Justice Elena Kagan explained what she called the “inverted” nature of the ruling written by the judge whose home, we recently learned, hung an upside-down American flag after January 6.
The Supreme Court with low ethical standards will issue advice again on Thursday. Theoretically, we could see a Trump ruling in New York on the same day as his immunity ruling in Washington, but the latter will likely come in June.
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This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
