The previous president has additionally taken goal at a few of Mr. Bragg’s key witnesses, hurling threats and social media screeds of their path. Mr. Cohen, particularly, has felt the brunt of the assaults from Mr. Trump, who has sued him, referred to as him a “rat” and referred to him as “loss of life.” Their confrontation within the courtroom, the place Mr. Cohen would be the star witness, is anticipated to be the climactic second of the trial.
But when Mr. Trump had been to take the stand, Mr. Cohen could be rapidly overshadowed. The previous president is more likely to delay a remaining choice till he is aware of whether or not the decide will limit prosecutors’ efforts to cross-examine him, and till he can assess the efficiency of his former fixer.
The jurors shall be assessing Mr. Cohen, too. If even one doesn’t imagine his testimony, the trial might finish with a hung jury, a transparent victory for the previous president. Todd Blanche, the lawyer main the case, has informed Mr. Trump in current weeks that he can win the trial, folks with data of the dialogue stated.
The case might be gained or misplaced throughout jury choice, within the subsequent two weeks. The expectation is that many potential jurors shall be Manhattan Democrats with animus for Mr. Trump. The previous president’s attorneys are hoping to identify sympathizers and can concentrate on youthful Black males and white working-class males.
However Mr. Trump might battle even with sympathetic jurors if he chooses to testify. On the civil fraud trial, the decide — who determined that case as an alternative of a jury — was not impressed.
He “hardly ever responded to the questions requested, and he steadily interjected lengthy, irrelevant speeches,” the decide wrote in his choice, including, “His refusal to reply the questions immediately, or in some instances, in any respect, severely compromised his credibility.”
