Attorneys for former President Donald Trump began presenting their closing arguments in his criminal trial on Tuesday—as the jury will decide whether Trump should be convicted for falsifying records based on a hush money payment ex-attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels— telling the jury they shouldn’t believe Cohen.
Former President Donald Trump appears for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28 ... [+]
Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records based on his reimbursement checks to Cohen, and in order to convict Trump, the jury must decide there’s proof beyond a reasonable doubt Trump was responsible for false business records at the Trump Organization, and he did so in order to cover up another crime (such as tax crimes or campaign finance violations).
Trump’s lawyers made their arguments first, with attorney Todd Blanche telling jurors his client is “innocent” and denouncing Cohen, who testified Trump knew about the hush money scheme and personally approved it.
Blanche claimed Cohen “told [jurors] a number of things from the witness stand that were lies,” as quoted by MSNBC, telling the jury, “You cannot convict Trump beyond a reasonable doubt on the words of Michael Cohen.”
The attorney also insisted that Trump’s reimbursement checks to Cohen weren’t falsely labeled as being for legal services as prosecutors claim, arguing Trump was paying Cohen for his legal services because he was the then-president’s personal attorney at the time—Cohen testified he was working for Trump for free and the reimbursement checks were separate—and claiming that if there was a scheme to reimburse Cohen, there’s “no evidence” Trump knew about it.
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The jury will start deliberations once closing arguments end and the judge has delivered instructions to the jury. It’s unclear how long it will take before they reach a verdict. If Trump is convicted, each felony count against him is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 per offense and/or up to four years in prison, meaning Trump faces up to $170,000 in fines and 136 years in prison if he were convicted on every count and sentenced to the maximum. Legal experts believe it’s unlikely Trump would be sentenced to prison as a first-time offender—though it’s not out of the question. His sentencing would likely take place one or two months after the verdict.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and decried the case as a “witch hunt” designed to hurt his campaign. The ex-president complained Monday on Truth Social that his lawyers are making their arguments first, saying allowing prosecutors to go last is a “BIG ADVANTAGE, VERY UNFAIR.” The order is not unique to his case, however: defense attorneys are required to give their closing arguments first under New York law, given that prosecutors are the ones who must provide the burden of proof showing Trump’s guilt.
Trump was indicted in Manhattan in March 2023 following a yearslong investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, and this case marks the first of his four criminal cases to go to trial. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 just before the 2016 election in order to cover up her allegations of an affair, which Trump has long denied. Trump then reimbursed Cohen through a series of checks paid throughout 2017 that prosecutors argue were falsely labeled as being for legal services, which Trump also denies. Cohen later pleaded guilty to campaign finance crimes stemming from his payment to Daniels, and testified during the weekslong trial that Trump was directly involved with both the hush money scheme and the repayment plan. Trump’s lawyers have sought to discredit Cohen, with attorney Todd Blanche cross-examining him four three days about Cohen’s frequent criticism of the ex-president and history of lying under oath. Closing arguments come after the defense presented only one major witness before resting its case last week. Attorney Robert Costello tried to undercut Cohen’s testimony by testifying Cohen told him Trump had no knowledge of the hush money payment, though Costello’s testimony got derailed as Judge Juan Merchan admonished him for rolling his eyes and expressing annoyance with the judge.