'Just taking a shot in the dark': Trump’s attorneys resort to 'hail Mary pass' to save him

As former President Donald Trump's civil fraud trial in New York comes closer to its expected conclusion, his defense team has resorted to asking for a "directed verdict" in the trial, which one legal expert likened to a "hail Mary pass."

According to the Daily Beast, Trump's lawyers asked Judge Arthur Engoron for a "directed verdict" for dismissal last week, marking the third such attempt in the trial so far. Law.com describes a directed verdict as a judge directing a jury to assign a specific verdict "because one of the parties has not proved his/her/its case as a matter of law (failed to present credible testimony on some key element of the claim or of the defense)." Because the Trump Organization's ongoing New York case is a bench trial, this means the former president's legal team is effectively asking Engoron to dismiss the case entirely on the basis that the State of New York has not brought sufficient evidence to prove its case.

"Three times is excessive. I think they're just taking a shot in the dark here," retired New York judge Carolyn E. Demarest told the Beast on Wednesday. Demarest added that in her 35 years on the bench, she couldn't recall a single instance in which she issued a directed verdict following a defendant's request.

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"It would be very, very rare to direct a verdict before the evidence is complete. At the end of the entire case, you might ask for a directed verdict, because you’d say, 'They didn’t prove it.' In very rare circumstances, it’s possible the case wasn’t proved," Demarest added. "But that would be one request for a directed verdict."

Following testimony from Deutsche Bank employee David Cosby Williams on November 28, Trump attorney Christopher Kise asked for the directed verdict for the third time.

"I am just going to renew, based on the testimony we just heard today, renew our motion for directed verdict. The evidence before the defense began was clear… the government had not introduced enough evidence of intent, materiality, reliance or damages for disgorgement with this witness," Kise said, according to the Beast's reporting. "And I don’t know how many more witnesses we need to call to confirm this."

Trump already effectively lost the case in a pre-trial decision from Judge Engoron, who ruled that Trump was guilty of sending fraudulent financial statements artificially inflating the value of his assets. However, the trial will determine how much in damages Trump is liable to pay. New York Attorney General Letitia James is asking the court to fine Trump $250 million, and for Trump and his adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, to be barred from holding officer positions in any New York companies in the future.

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