Donald Trump makes comments to the media on May 21, 2024, as he returns to court for afternoon proceedings. Trump’s lawyers rested their defense Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money criminal trial, moving the case closer to the moment the jury will begin deciding his fate. “Your honor, the defense rests,” Trump lawyer Todd Blanche told the judge following testimony from a former federal prosecutor who had been called to attack the credibility of the prosecution’s key witness. The jury was sent home for a week, until May 28, when closing arguments are expected, but the attorneys planned to return later Tuesday to discuss how the judge will instruct jurors on deliberations. Trump, the first former American president to be tried criminally, did not stop to speak as he left the courthouse and ignored a question about why he did not testify. He previously said he wanted to take the witness stand to defend himself against what he claims are politically motivated charges. As he left a news conference with supporters of the former president outside the courthouse, Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. defended his father's decision not to testify. "There'd be absolutely no reason, no justification to do that whatsoever. Everyone sees it for the sham that it is,” the younger Trump said. FULL STORY: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-trial-nears-end-defense-witness-returns-after-angering-judge/507-29fe62e7-09b1-440c-852e-eb941437f03c