Trump Organization lawyers contend that Manhattan prosecutors are seeking to punish the company for longtime finance chief Allen Weisselberg's scheme to avoid personal income taxes on company-paid perks such as an apartment and luxury cars.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday and Friday, with jurors expected to begin deliberating on Monday, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan said. Prosecutors said they might spend four or five hours summarizing the complex, numbers-rich case for jurors. Defence lawyers said they'll likely need about three or four hours.
Trump Organization lawyers framed their defence case around Bender, calling him to the witness stand for three days that culminated Monday with them questioning the quality of his work and the reliability of his testimony. "I don't want to impeach the witness. I don't want to call him a liar," Necheles said. "That's impeaching the witness."
Weisselberg has pleaded guilty to taking US$1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, and he testified against the Trump Organization earlier in the trial in exchange for a promised five-month jail sentence. He testified that he came up with the scheme on his own, without Trump or the Trump family knowing, but said the company benefited because it didn't have to pay him as much in salary.