The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump's ongoing criminal trial in New York City could decide the case in the defense's favor by the end of this week according to Jonathan Turley, lawyer and George Washington University Law School professor.
Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, testified on Monday in the trial over payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels just prior to the 2016 election. Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, specifically internal records at the Trump Organization, to hide the payments.
Turley wrote in an opinion piece for the New York Post on Monday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg "is counting on the jury convicting Trump regardless of the evidence" presented during his trial.
He added that this is "why Bragg likely fears that the judge, not the jury, will decide the case. After the government closes its evidence this week, the defense will move for a direct verdict by the judge on the basis that the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction."
Turley wrote that the judge presiding over the case, Judge Juan Merchan, "has failed repeatedly to protect the rights of the accused in this case," adding that "if he wants to show he is truly neutral, Merchan should grant the motion for a directed verdict."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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