NEW YORK—The second week of witness testimony in former President Donald Trump’s trial concluded Friday without clear evidence of the crimes he allegedly committed.
The jury has heard mentions of salacious stories about celebrities, been introduced to the world of tabloid magazines and peaked into the inner-workings of Trump’s campaign, but witness testimony has not yet established key portions of prosecutors’ claims. Prosecutors are seeking to prove Trump falsified business records relating to Michael Cohen’s $130,000 payment made to keep Stormy Daniels quiet about claims of a “sexual encounter” ahead of the 2016 election, as alleged in the indictment, and that he did so in service of a broader “conspiracy” to influence the 2016 election, as they clarified during opening statements.
Former White House communications director Hope Hicks, one of the prosecution’s…
