Read previewFormer President Donald Trump's historic conviction on Thursday may have been in part due to mistakes made by his defense team, including not having him take the stand, legal experts told Business Insider. Though the conclusion of the case was significant, three legal experts told BI the verdict wasn't a major shock. AdvertisementHe pointed to opening statements made by Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, that Rahmani thought suggested an accountant would testify and serve as a fall guy. AdvertisementNot long before resting their case, the defense told the judge they were still weighing having Trump testify. Some legal experts previous said testifying would not be a good idea for Trump, with concerns that he could end up committing perjury.

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Persons: —, Donald Trump's, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Alex Reinert, Eric Anderson, Sullivan Wright Gizer, McRae, Donald Trump, Daniels, Neama, Todd Blanche, Michael Cohen, Trump's, Rahmani, David Pecker, Anderson, Cohen, hadn't, It's, Merchan, Biden Organizations: Service, New, Business, Cardozo School of Law, McRae LLP, West, Trial, National Enquirer, Trump Locations: New York