DONALD Trump’s lawyers could implement the Swiss cheese argument to try to acquit the former president, a former federal judge suggests.
Final arguments for TrumpThe hush money trial is scheduled to begin on May 28.
4
4
4
4
The 12 jurors are expected to begin deliberating on Wednesday, where they will decide whether or not to convict a former U.S president on criminal charges.
During the six-week trial, the city center Manhattan court heard testimony from 22 witnesses, including Trump’s former personal lawyer, michael cohenand adult film star, Stormy Daniels.
Trump is accused of falsifying business records in an attempt to cover up a secret payment to Daniels, 45, to silence her from going public with an alleged affair in 2006.
‘DOES NOT ADD’
Now, as the jury awaits instructions from Judge Juan Merchan before deliberating, a former federal judge has laid out the possibilities of how Trump could emerge unscathed.
Read more at The US Sun
John Jones, a former district judge in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, told The US Sun that the defense could tip the balance of the trial if the prosecution did not prove Trump’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“They might say, ‘You might think [Trump] participated in the scheme, you may have an inkling of it — but unless you found it out beyond a reasonable doubt,'” Jones said.
“You’re talking about the former president of the United States — they’re going to play that card and say, ‘There are so many holes it’s like Swiss cheese.’ Does not make sense.”
Then there’s jury nullification, which Jones doesn’t suspect will happen.
“That’s where the jury’s sense of justice is offended,” Jones added.
“The prosecution technically proves the case, but it is not a case in which we want to vote for conviction because we do not think the severity is enough.
“For example, [Trump’s] being persecuted, and that is the risk that Stormy Daniels’ testimony runs.
“The jurors are not moralists, besides being excited, they don’t care at all.
“If you are the prosecution, you can tip the scales in a way that creates sympathy for the defendant.
“I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but the weight of the government could tip the scales because jurors are offended.”
That’s a real possibility in this case.
Former Federal Judge John Jones
For Trump to be convicted or acquitted, all 12 jurors must reach a unanimous decision.
If the jurors cannot reach an agreement, a hung jury is declared and the case can be retried.
“That’s a real possibility in this case,” Jones said of the prospect of a hung jury.
“Overall, the prosecution appears to be proving its case, but there is a way to go.”
Despite the outcome of the New York trial, Trump still faces federal indictment on classified documents allegations in Florida.
The 40 federal charges stem from the FBI’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in August 2022.
Trump is accused of keeping classified documents after leaving the White House and storing them in various locations on the Palm Beach estate.
He denied any wrongdoing.
The trial, which was scheduled to begin on May 20, was postponed due to issues regarding pre-trial requests and confidential evidence.
A look at who testified against Donald Trump during his silent trial
Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury on March 30, 2023, for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up secret payments and has pleaded not guilty. His trial began a year later, on April 15, 2024, and since then several people have testified.
David Pecker
Pecker has a long career in media, previously serving as an editor for several outlets including Men’s Fitness, Star and National Enquirer. He was the first witness to testify against Trump, during which time he detailed their relationship. A longtime Trump ally, Pecker was accused of buying the rights to negative stories and burying them, in a strategy known as “catch and kill.” He admitted to buying the rights to the Karen McDougal story for $150,000, but then refused to do the same with the Stormy Daniels story, telling jurors, “I said, I don’t want the National Enquirer to be associated with a star porn. Our biggest retailer is Walmart… That would be very bad for the magazine, very bad for the American media and I don’t want any affiliation”, according to CBS News.
I hope Hicks
Hope Hicks served as a public relations executive and political advisor to Trump from 2017 to 2018 and again from 2020 to 2021. She took the stand on May 3, 2024, and recalled the chaos that occurred after Access Hollywood released an explicit tape that threatened his presidential campaign. Trump was heard on the tape bragging about groping women, saying things like, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.” Hicks said he learned of the story from a Washington Post reporter, testifying that he “had the good sense to believe this was going to be a huge story and one that would dominate the news cycle for the next few days,” adding that it was a “damaging development.” because the 2016 election was just a month away. “He wanted to make sure there was a denial of any kind of relationship,” Hicks continued, explaining that she thought he was concerned about his family’s reputation. “I don’t think he wanted anyone in his family to be hurt or embarrassed by anything that was going on during the campaign. He wanted everyone to be proud of him,” she continued.
Stormy Daniels
Former adult film star Stormy Daniels took the stand on May 7, 2024. For years she was accused of lying about her alleged 2006 affair with the twice-impeached former president, but responded to those allegations during an interrogation , telling the court, “The sex in my films is as real as it happened in that hotel room.” During her testimony, she revealed details of the alleged encounter, telling the jury that she beat Trump with a rolled-up magazine before they had full, unprotected sex in the “missionary position.” Trump can be seen on the sidelines, looking visibly uncomfortable during this time.
michael cohen
Former Trump lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen took the stand on May 13, 2024 and testified that his job was to do “whatever” Trump wanted. “The only thing that was on my mind was getting the job done, making him happy,” Cohen said. He then detailed Trump’s alleged affair with McDougal, claiming the former president told him to “make sure [the story] is not released.” Cohen previously spent three years behind bars for arranging payments to silence women who claimed they had affairs. He also lied to Congress in 2016 and admitted to violating campaign finance laws, allegedly at Trump’s direction. Cohen recalled more of these events in his 2020 book, Disloyal.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
