Donald Trump’s empty chair
Lorraine Evanoff | 10:30 am EDT May 9, 2024
"If the prosecution argues that Trump knew about the payments to Michael Cohen, for example, they need a witness to corroborate that claim. Otherwise, the defense attorney could point to the empty chair at the witness stand as a gaping hole in the story. It’s known as the “empty chair defense.”
Having corroborating witnesses stops the defense from shifting blame to someone that is not in the courtroom."
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Great point, Lorraine.
I was under the impression that techniques developed to prosecute organized crime can be used to overcome the empty chair problem. However, not being a prosecutor—or a lawyer for that matter—I don’t know the details.