STORY: :: Trump takes hits at Biden and the judge in his hush money trial
:: New York
:: May 21, 2024
"This is all about, Biden can't campaign, so he's trying to injure his opponent. They're trying to hurt the opponent because they can't win it fair and square. It's lawfare. There are a lot of terms for it. It's a third world country way of campaigning. Such a disgrace. So sad to see what's happened to our country. Our country is going to hell under Biden."
"They're already cheating the election with this. And you don't know what's happening because the judge is so biased, so corrupt. He's so corrupt and he's so conflicted that you never know how these things... I'd rather have an honest judge, but a corrupt judge will far surpass a great case for us. When you have a corrupt judge, lots of bad things happen."
"I'm leading crooked Joe Biden by a lot. They thought they could take me out with this. And don't forget, I have like eight of them going. This is one. I have others going too and we're doing very well in them."
Trump had stoked speculation for weeks about whether he would take the stand to defend himself against charges of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
Justice Juan Merchan said jurors would return next Tuesday, following the three-day Memorial Day weekend, to hear closing arguments, with deliberations likely beginning the following day.
Trump's lawyers had asked Merchan to dismiss the case before it reaches the jury, arguing that it rests on the testimony of a witness, the estranged former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, who has a well-documented history of lying.
Such dismissal motions are rarely successful, and Merchan indicated on Monday that he was inclined to let jurors assess Cohen's credibility for themselves. Prosecutors say his testimony is buttressed by other evidence.
