Trump hush money trial enters new phase after defense rests without testimony from former president

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00:00 Donald Trump left his criminal trial on Tuesday without taking the witness stand to defend himself.

00:06 That was always the expectation of legal experts, but the former president had said repeatedly he was eager to testify.

00:13 Earlier in the day, outside court, Trump repeated familiar talking points, taking aim at the judge.

00:20 New York is really on trial itself. The whole world is watching. They're seeing what's happening.

00:24 And you can't use conflicted judges. This is a conflicted judge.

00:28 In the end, the defense called just two witnesses, a legal analyst and Robert Costello,

00:34 a former legal advisor to Michael Cohen, the prosecution's key witness.

00:38 With Costello, the defense tried to poke holes in Cohen's credibility, which is crucial to the prosecution's case.

00:46 A convicted felon himself, on his final day of testimony, Cohen admitted to stealing thousands of dollars from the Trump organization.

00:54 And as both sides prepare closing arguments, the result ultimately relies on whether the jury believes Cohen,

01:01 the only one who directly connects his former boss to the alleged 34 felonies of falsifying business records,

01:08 linked to a hush money payment to the porn star Stormy Daniels and the run up to the 2016 election.

01:15 Daniels claims she had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006, accusations Trump denies.

01:21 During the trial, Judge Juan Mershon found the former president in contempt of court for violating a gag order at least 10 times,

01:29 even threatening Trump with jail time for speaking publicly about witnesses and others involved in the case.

01:36 Since, Trump has brought in a parade of surrogates who have served as his mouthpiece outside of court, including his son, Don Jr.

01:44 The star witness in this case is a what? Nine times convicted liar and now now an admitted thief.

01:52 If convicted, the former president faces probation or as much as four years in prison.

01:58 Closing arguments are scheduled to begin this Tuesday with court off for the Memorial Day holiday.

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