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After lengthy closing arguments, the jury will now decide Trump’s fate in the hush money trial

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WASHINGTON – Closing arguments in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president concluded Tuesday. The jury must now decide whether Donald Trump is guilty of faking his personal lawyer to repay hush money he paid to a porn star immediately before the 2016 presidential election.

Just outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan, President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign held a press conference during closing arguments, which was also attended by actor Robert DeNiro and two former U.S. Capitol police officers who were overpowered by the enraged mob of Trump supporters who stormed the building on January 6, 2021.

DeNiro got into an argument with a heckler and the Trump campaign team then held its own press conference.

The final day of the trial ended after nearly eight hours of closing arguments in which the defense portrayed Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen as the “MVP of liars” and Trump as a victim of extortion who was too busy as a politician in 2017 to understand the payments to Cohen.

Meanwhile, the prosecution took jurors through excruciating details of events and witness testimony to show that Trump’s goal and that of those around him was to “deceive the American voters” in the run-up to the 2016 election, according to reporters at the courthouse.

New York does not allow recordings in the courtroom, but offers public Transcripts of the procedure. States Newsroom reported on the process in person on May 20th.

Trump, the likely 2024 Republican presidential nominee, is accused of 34 crimes, one each in connection with the 11 invoices, 11 checks and 12 ledger entries that New York prosecutors say were fabricated as routine “legal expenses” to conceal kickbacks to Cohen for paying porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump denies any wrongdoing

Daniels, also a director of adult films, said in early May to a sexual experience with Trump in 2006 at a golf tournament at Lake Tahoe, which he says never took place.

Cohen, the prosecutor Crown witnesslater told the jury that he had transferred $130,000 to Daniels in tardy October 2016 to obtain her signature on a nondisclosure agreement and that Trump was aware of this.

Cohen’s payment followed the release of the Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump can be seen telling a television host that his fame allows him to grope women’s genitals.

Other witnesses testified that these revelations sparked an uproar within Trump’s campaign team over a possible loss of female voters.

In addition, Cohen testified that Trump was present at discussions with the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, to hatch a plan to repay Cohen under the guise of “legal expenses.” Cohen would ultimately receive a gross amount of $420,000, which would cover bonuses and taxes.

The hush money trial, which began in mid-April, is likely the only one to take place before the November election. Three other criminal cases against the former president, two at the federal level and one in Georgia, stalled.

During the six-week trial, jurors heard from nearly two dozen witnesses called by the prosecution to testify to Trump’s history of suppressing negative stories.

David Pecker, former editor of the National Enquirer, testified that he worked with Trump and Cohen in early 2016 to pay former Playboy model Karen McDougal and cover up her story of an alleged affair with Trump.

The GLOAT

In his closing argument, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche addressed the jury for nearly three hours, arguing that Trump made no attempt to influence the 2016 election through “unlawful means.”

Blanche urged jurors to put aside the notion of a conspiracy, stressing that the existence of a nondisclosure agreement was “not a crime.” Collaborating with editors to buy the silence of sources and suppress stories was routine, Blanche said.

“Every election campaign in this country is a conspiracy,” he told jurors, according to reporters in the courthouse.

Although there was no firm contract between Trump and Cohen at the time, Blanche argued that the two had an “oral” fee agreement and that Cohen had lied about how much work he actually did for Trump.

When Trump reached the Oval Office and personally signed nine of the 11 checks for Cohen, the then-president was too busy “running the country” to realize what he was signing, Blanche said.

As for how payments should be classified in the general ledger, Blanche argued that the Trump Organization’s software had restricted drop-down menu categories and that “legal expenses” was one of the options.

Blanche’s closing argument was largely dominated by his efforts to convince the jury that Cohen’s testimony was not trustworthy.

“It is impossible to establish that President Trump knew about this payment at the time it was made without believing the words of Michael Cohen – period,” Blanche told jurors, according to reporters in the courtroom.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 for lying to Congress.

Using another sports metaphor, Blanche told the jury that Cohen was the “GLOAT”

“He is literally the biggest liar of all time,” Blanche said.

Finally, he urged the jury not to send Trump “to prison” because of Cohen’s testimony.

Judge Juan Merchan rebuked Blanche for mentioning prison, pointing out that a guilty verdict does not necessarily mean a prison sentence. Merchan urged jurors to ignore that “inappropriate” comment, according to reporters at the courthouse.

“The only one who paid the price”

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass led the jury through his closing argument for nearly five hours; it was the longest day of the trial.

Steinglass initially told them that the prosecution only had to prove that false business records were used as part of the conspiracy and that Trump knew about it.

Steinglass reviewed evidence previously presented to the jury – phone records, handwritten notes, recorded phone conversations and checks with Trump’s own signature. He also recalled the incriminating testimony of several Trump allies, including publisher Pecker.

“The conspiracy to illegally interfere with the 2016 election – you don’t even need Michael Cohen to prove that in the slightest,” Steinglass said, according to reporters in the courthouse.

Steinglass relied on Cohen’s murky past, including his lies to Congress and his prison sentence for campaign finance violations related to paying hush money to women who accused him of extramarital affairs with Trump.

These measures were taken on Trump’s behalf to defend and shield him, he said. The irony is that they are now being used again against Cohen to protect Trump, Steinglass said.

Cohen went from being a steadfast ally of Trump to a bitter enemy, publishing books called Disloyal and Revenge and producing a podcast called Mea Culpa in which he regularly criticizes Trump.

Cohen was “understandably angry that to this day he is the only one who has paid the price for his role in this conspiracy,” Blanche told jurors, according to reporters who noticed Trump shaking his head.

Steinglass tried to humanize Cohen in front of jurors, telling them the former mediator – who now has a criminal record and is no longer licensed to practice law – could “hardly be blamed” for selling merchandise such as T-shirts depicting Trump in an orange prison jumpsuit.

Steinglass also rejected the defense’s argument that Trump’s actions prior to the release of the 2016 US election results were routine. He described the National Enquirer as a “covert arm” of Trump’s campaign team and “the exact opposite of normal, legitimate press work.”

“Everything Mr. Trump and his cronies did in this case was wrapped in lies,” Steinglass said toward the end of his closing argument. “The game was one of obfuscation, and all roads lead to the man who benefited most from it, namely Donald Trump.”

Biden appoints DeNiro

On the sidewalk directly in front of the New York County Supreme Court, the Biden campaign team provided DeNiro, the voice of the latest campaign ad, and former U.S. Capitol Police officers Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone. The officers are campaigning for Biden in swing states, the campaign said in a press release.

Michael Tyler, the campaign’s communications director, introduced the trio, saying they were in Manhattan not because of the trial but because that was where the media was concentrated.

Loud protesters, whom DeNiro called “crazy,” competed with the loudspeakers.

“Donald Trump created this,” DeNiro said, pointing to the protesters. “He wants to create total chaos, which he is succeeding in in some areas… I love this city and I don’t want to destroy it. Donald Trump wants to destroy not only this city, but the entire country, and at some point he could destroy the entire world.”

“These guys are the real heroes,” De Niro said, pointing to Dunn and Fanone behind him. “They risked their lives for these vile people, for Trump.”

A protester then interrupted DeNiro and called the officers “traitors.”

“I don’t even know how to deal with you, my friend,” DeNiro replied during the livestream event.

Both Thin And Fanone testified before the legislature two years ago Investigation the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 as Congress was convening in a joint session to certify Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Trump still falsely claims he won the election.

Trump’s election campaign followed immediately with its own press conference.

Jason Miller, Trump’s senior adviser, held up Tuesday’s edition of the New York Post with the headline “Nothing to Brag About,” a play on the name of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

“Everyone knows this case is complete nonsense,” Miller said. “President Trump did nothing wrong. This is all politics.”

On Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, the former president posted “BORING!” in all caps during a break in the Steinglass summary.

Late Monday, Trump posted a complaint in all caps about the order of closing arguments – a routine and well-established sequence of remarks in court proceedings.

“WHY IS THE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT ALLOWED TO PUT THE LAST ARGUMENT IN THE TRIAL AGAINST ME? WHY CAN’T THE DEFENSE BE THE LAST POINT? BIG ADVANTAGE, VERY UNFAIR. WITCH HUNT!” he wrote.

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