Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial is reaching its final stage but still, his wife Melania Trump has been conspicuously absent from court.
The former president has been joined in the courtroom by a host of his supporters, including Republican lawmakers, former administration officials, vice presidential hopefuls and some of his own children, over the course of five weeks. They've endured hours of scandalous testimony as the ex-president faces trial on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to an alleged hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
However, Melania Trump has kept her distance from the New York criminal courtroom, instead opting to remain at home in Florida. While it can often be beneficial for a jury to see defendants with their spouses in the courthouse, legal experts claim the unique nature of this trial means it doesn't matter that she's not shown up.
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The pair while Donald Trump was still in the White House (Getty Images)Anna Cominsky, Managing Attorney of New York Law School Legal Services, told the Daily Mail: "Generally speaking, jurors pay attention to who is seated in the courtroom. Defence attorneys usually like to have 'support' for their client evidenced by friends and family - it's something that humanises the client. That said, this is a very different case. The jurors know that this is the former president."
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Cominsky also highlighted that this particular courtroom is "completely packed with people from both sides." She said it makes it difficult for the jury to distinguish who is there for whom. While Melania's presence in court could have been a good way for her to show "support" for her husband's claims that he never had sexual relations with Stormy, Berkeley Law professor John Yoo notes that this may have assisted prosecutors by putting the alleged affair at the centre of the trial.
He explained: "Her presence would also buy into the prosecution's underhanded effort to make the trial about Stormy [Daniels], and not about whether any bookkeeping misdemeanours occurred and whether they concealed some greater crime."
Trump in court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments (Getty Images)For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US
The expert argued that Trump's defence team has successfully attacked the prosecution's failure to prove its case on the law. He commended their strategy of maintaining focus on alleged legal failings rather than extra-marital affairs.
Another voice, Cornell law professor Randy Zelin, believed no one would care about Melania's absence and that her sudden appearance "would look contrived anyway." Both sides will have their final opportunity to address the jury with their closing arguments today.
Once the jury has been given their instructions deliberations will proceed in secret, in a room reserved specifically for jurors and in a process that’s intentionally opaque. It’s anyone’s guess how long the jury will deliberate for and there’s no time limit either. The jury must evaluate 34 counts of falsifying business records, so that could take some time, and a verdict might not come by the end of the week.
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