'Contemptuous' witness, Cohen accused of theft: Trump trial testimony comes to explosive end

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

50% : To convict or acquit Trump, the jury must reach a unanimous verdict.
47% : Cohen's $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels is at the heart of the charges that Trump falsified business records to cover up reimbursing Cohen for the hush money.
43% : If he is convicted, Trump could be sentenced to a jail term, but he would likely remain free while appealing through the election.
39% : "I think it would be great for Judge Merchan to rule from the bench and determine that this is a witch hunt," Trump said.
38% : Trump had previously told the press he would testify but subsequently backpedaled.
36% : Costello was an important witness for Trump because he testified that in 2018 Cohen repeatedly denied having any evidence against his former boss after the FBI searched his home.
34% : "I swear to God, Bob, I don't have anything on Donald Trump," Cohen told Costello at the time, according to Costello's Monday testimony.
34% : But Trump chose not to testify and provide the jury with his explanation about the payments.
28% : Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter GuideThe trial also featured earlier fireworks when Daniels testified about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump, which included such details as gold tweezers in his bathroom.
27% : Trump said a bookkeeper correctly listed payments to Cohen as "legal expenses" and that there was nothing illegal about obtaining a nondisclosure agreement with Daniels.
24% : Last week, after Trump stopped commenting on Cohen, his political allies, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, took on that role in his visits to the courthouse.
24% : Trump has repeatedly accused Merchan of bias against him, although the state judicial ethics board for Merchan had no conflict of interest in the case.
23% : These were not the only time Trump or his surrogates attacked Cohen during the trial, which featured highly contentious comments from the former president and his allies.
22% : Trump was repeatedly warned, even threatened with jail, and fined $10,000 by Merchan for violating a gag order limiting his comments on witnesses.
22% : Cohen previously testified that Trump knew he was reimbursing Cohen for the payment to Daniels and that it was to avoid negative publicity before the 2016 election, two key points to prosecutors.
22% : In daily hallway statements to reporters, Trump railed against Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, arguing there was no case to be made.
19% : Last week, Trump's attorney Todd Blanche accused Cohen of lying on the stand when he said he discussed the payment with Trump on a phone call.
19% : And it laid out in painstaking detail how Cohen orchestrated hush money payments to Daniels and Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model and another alleged ex-paramour of Trump's.
11% : Trump denies charges to reporters, not jurorsTrump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of another crime.
9% : Trump urged judge to dismiss charges before jury deliberationsTrump told reporters Tuesday that Merchan should throw out the case against him for lack of evidence before the jury considers it.

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