Trump trial live updates: Defense rests without Donald testifying after witness ... trends now

Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, and radio host Sebastian Gorka were among supporters of the former president speaking putside court.

Margo Martin, Trump's Deputy Director of Communications, has arrived back at Trump Tower in New York after attending the court case.

Trump suporters have been making their feelings known outside the court in Manhattan today.

The judge, prosecution and defense will gather for a 'charging conference'. The jury will not be there.

It will involve detailed legal discussions but could have a major bearing on the ultimate outcome of the case.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers will argue about what instructions the judge should give to jurors when he sums up the case.

There will be various legal skirmishes about what the judge should say to the jury.

Judge Merchan (pictured below) has said he expects his instructions to last about an hour and they will be dleivered next week.

In addition, this afternoon, the judge may also rule on an earlier attempt by Trump's legal team to have the case dismissed.

Over twenty days of the hush money trial, a total of 22 witnesses have taken the stand.

Prosecutors called 20 witnesses over 19 days for 50 hours of testimony, with Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels making the longest appearances.

The defense called just two over two days, for only two hours of testimony.

Former Trump lawyer William Brennan called the decision to put Bob Costello on the stand a 'disaster' for the defense.

Costello was reportedly put on the stand at the insistence of the ex-president, but he clashed with Judge Merchan to the extent that at one point the courtroom had to be cleared, so Merchan could admonish the witness.

'It was a huge, huge step backward for the defense,' Brennan said on CNN.

He said it was a 'disaster yesterday because we're talking about this guy.'

Brennan argued that the lawyers have to run the show.

'The client - I don't care if the client is the former President of the United States, the lawyers have the client talk about pleading guilty and leading not guilty, testify or not,' said That's fine, and maybe some input on waiver trial versus a jury trial. That's it.'

Costello served as counsel to star witness Michael Cohen.

The defense hoped Costello's testimony would undermine Cohen's credibility.

Under cross-examination on Tuesday prosecutors showed Costello, a lawyer, a series of emails.

It was established that Costello was 'very close' to Rudy Giuliani and had known him 50 years. Giuliani came to his wedding.

In one email to Cohen, Costello referred to a 'back channel of communication' to Giuliani.

However, in an email, Cohen wrote: ‘Please cease contacting me as you do not and have never represented me in this or any other matter.’

Prosecutors said Costello had been trying to 'control' Cohen on behalf of Trump.

But Cohen admitted he did not have 'control' of Cohen who employed a different lawyer, and ultimately became the star witness against the former president in his trial.

In an email to a colleague Costello called Cohen an 'a**hole' and accused him of trying to 'play the most powerful man on the planet' Donald Trump.

Donald Trump Jr. railed against the prosecution and said the crux of their case rests on claims by a 'thief' and a 'porn star' outside court on Tuesday.

Moments after the defense rested its case, the former president's son joined the entourage of supporters outside court to slam the trial.

He said: 'The only problem is the witnesses who are experts in these things aren’t allowed to actually testify to that. Because you have a rigged system.'

'They’ve started to go down a very dangerous and a very slippery slope.

'This insanity cannot stand. This kind of bias cannot be allowed to happen in the United States or anywhere else,' he added

'If this was going on right now, in a third-world Banana Republic, there would be people screaming about it. You people, the media, would be outraged. Instead, because I presume you’re fine with whatever the results are, as long as it’s against Donald Trump. Your silence is deafening and it’s disgusting.'

The jury heard from a total of 22 witnesses.

The prosecution called 20 of those and, between them, they testified for at least 50 hours.

Defense lawyers called two witnesses who testified for less than two hours.

Donald Trump's glamorous aides Margo Martin and Natalie Harp were looking pretty in pink as they headed to court to support the former President while donning matching ensembles.

Margo, who serves as Trump's deputy communications chief and has become a star in her own right, was spotted exiting Trump Tower in New York alongside 32-year-old Natalie on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old - who bears an uncanny resemblance to Trump's wife Melania - has been seen in a slew of elegant ensembles as she supports the former President, 77, through every shocking twist and turn of his Manhattan hush-money trial.

Margo and Natalie embraced the Barbiecore trend as they added a pop of color to their chic outfits, with Margo donning a bright pink jacket, which belted at the front and accentuated her trim waistline, while Natalie sported a dress in a similar hue.

The resting of the defense case means Donald Trump has decided NOT to take the stand to give evidence in his trial.

The jury has been sent home until after the Memorial Day Weekend holiday.

Judge Merchan asked them to return next Tuesday for the start of closing speeches by the prosecution and defense.

Judge Merchan told the jury:

Thank you, I'll see you in a week.

Judge Merchan said closing speeches will last about a day on Tuesday, and his own summation will take about an hour.

The jury will then begin deliberating.

‘Last week on May 15th didn’t you go to Congress?’ she asked him.

‘Yes, he responded. ‘And you went there to publicly vilify Michael Cohen in the middle of his testimony?’ she asked.

‘I went there to testify,’ was Costello’s response. Asked if it was an effort to ‘intimidate’ Cohen, he called the notion ‘ridiculous.’

During his testimony, which came amid Cohen’s multi-day appearance on the witness stand, he accused Cohen of repeatedly lying.

Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche tells the court:

The defense rests.

The prosecution ofers no rebuttal witnesses.

Joshua Steinglass, for the prosecution, says:

Nothing further judge.

Costello was shown an email he sent to his business partner Jeff Citron on June 22, 2018.

In it, he called Cohen an 'a******' and accused him of trying to ‘slow play’ the [most powerful man on the planet' - Donald Trump.

Costello wrote: 'What should I say to this a******? He is playing with the most powerful man on the planet.'

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger said: 'That email certainly speaks for itself?'

Costello replied: 'It certainly does.'

Costello went on to deny the prosecutor's suggestion that he had 'lost control of Cohen' having tried to control him on behalf of Trump.

Asked by the prosecutor if he had 'animosity' toward Cohen, Costello said firmly: 'No.'

He said it was 'ridiculous' to suggest that he had tried to 'intimidate' Cohen.

Former Federal Election Commissioner Brad Smith has slammed the hush money trial judge for not letting him testify for the defense.

In a lengthy post on X, Smith that the jury needs to understand the complexities of federal election law that is central to the case against Trump.

Manhattan prosecutors say Trump hid the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about the affair as a legal expense to help him win the 2016 election.

He wrote: ‘While judge wouldn’t let me testify on meaning of law, he allowed Michael Cohen to go on at length about whether and how his activity violated FECA. So effectively, the jury got its instructions on FECA from Michael Cohen!’

Smith also took issue with how the judge did not want to separate testify on how reporting of the payments may have lined up with the dates of the election.

‘We were going to go over the reporting schedules, showing that even if they thought it was a campaign expenditure to be reported, an expenditure made on October 27 (when $$ sent to Daniels atty) would not, under law, be reported until Dec. 8, a full 30 days after election’.

Robert Costello is back on the stand. He clashed with Judge Juan Merchan yesterday, who warned him about his 'contemptous' behavior with eye rolls and sighs at prosecution objections.

He started off rather contrite, trying to be helpful and polite as his cross-examination resumed. It didn't last long.

As he was being asked about an email in which he accused Michael Cohen of 'playing' him, he offered to explain exactly what he meant by that.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked him if he meant he hadn't been paid by Cohen.

Costello says no, and again that he'd be happy to explain what he meant.

Defense attorney is on his feet: 'There's a pending question that the witness...'

But Merchan cuts him off: 'There is no pending question.'

Costello is on thin ice. He had to be repeatedly reminded yesterday to answer only the questions he was asked, and to use 'yes' or 'no' if possible. And he is up to his old tricks again.

Trump defense witness Robert Costello appears calm on the stand today after receiving a tongue-lashing from the judge yesterday.

Costello, wearing a gray suit and pink shirt, is looking straight at prosecutor Susan Hoffinger and giving concise answers to her questions.

A few feet to Costello's right Judge Merchan is watching him closely.

As yet there have been no unusual interactions between the two.

Sitting in a ‘freezing’ courtroom hasn’t kept Donald Trump from securing some red hot fundraising numbers.

In fact, stunning new campaign finance data reveals the criminal defendant has been outraising President Joe Biden even while cooling his heels inside a Manhattan courtroom.

Trump and the Republican Party brought in $76 million in April. That’s about 50 per cent more than the $51 million Biden and the Democratic National Committee brought in last month.

Biden’s camp has $84 million in the bank, giving him a cash edge over Trump’s who had $49 million in cash-on-hand at the end of April.

Biden still has an overall cash edge after keeping up a record-setting pace throughout the year.

Much of Trump’s haul came from a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser hosted by billionaire John Paulson that brought in more than $50 million. Biden’s big-ticket event came during the prior period, in a March fundraiser featuring former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama at Radio City Music Hall.

His next blockbuster event features Hollywood luminaries

read more from dailymail.....