Trump’s hush-money trial reached the brink of closings as the jury wait began
By May 27, 2024, Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial was no longer taking testimony, but it was not yet in jury deliberations. Closing arguments were scheduled for May 28, and the panel had not begun to weigh the evidence. The case had moved from witness examination to the final stage before jurors would get the instructions and the charge sheet that would guide their decision. citeturn0search0turn0search1
The prosecution’s theory rested on falsified business records. Prosecutors say Trump’s company recorded reimbursements in a way that concealed the true purpose of payments tied to Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, after a hush-money payment made before the 2016 election. The state’s filing lays out that allegation as the central theory of the case. citeturn0search1
Trump had already chosen not to testify, and the defense had rested without putting him on the stand. That left the jury with documents, witness testimony, and two sharply different accounts of what the records showed and why they were handled that way. The next step was for each side to tell jurors how they should read the evidence. citeturn0search0turn0search2
The timing also kept the trial inside the 2024 campaign. Trump was the presumptive Republican nominee while the case was still live, making the courtroom fight part of the larger political calendar. But on May 27, the legal picture was still procedural, not finished: the court was waiting for closings the next day, then jury instructions, then deliberations. citeturn0search0turn0search2
Comments
Threaded replies, voting, and reports are live. New users still go through screening on their first approved comments.
Log in to comment
No comments yet. Be the first reasonably on-topic person here.