NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump opted not to testify in his criminal hush money trial on Tuesday, bringing his defense to a quick conclusion and clearing the way for jurors to begin deliberations next week.
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.
By testifying, he might have sought to personally convince a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates that his aim was to protect his family from embarrassment, not bury a story about an alleged sexual encounter damaging to his political prospects.
But criminal defendants typically do not testify in their own trials as it exposes them to probing questions from prosecutors.

He would have been at risk of perjury if he lied under oath.
In defiant and rambling testimony in a civil fraud trial last year, Trump was reprimanded by the judge and ultimately ordered to pay $355 million in penalties. A similar performance in this case could have alienated jurors.
“He could tank his whole case with one outburst," retired New York judge George Grasso said in an interview last week.
Trump, 77, has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records. He has denied wrongdoing and said he never had sex with Daniels, who testified in detail about a 2006 liaison she said she had with Trump.

Prosecutors say the altered records covered up election-law and tax-law violations - since the money was essentially an unreported contribution to Trump's campaign - that elevate the crimes from misdemeanors to felonies punishable by up to four years in prison.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-lawyers-mount-defense-hush-money-trial-if-case-is-not-dismissed-2024-05-21/