In closing arguments for the New York hush money trial of former President Donald Trump, defense attorney Todd Blanche underscored to the jury that nondisclosure agreements are perfectly legal and ordinary.
“There’s nothing wrong with a nondisclosure agreement. There’s nothing illegal, there’s nothing sinister about it,” he told jurors on Tuesday in a callback to his opening statements.
While prosecutors acknowledge the general legality of NDAs, they contend the hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels is an exception, allegedly breaching federal campaign finance laws. However, they did not charge Trump with a campaign finance violation.
Responding to the prosecution’s claims of a conspiracy to sway the election, Blanche argued that every campaign involves coordinated efforts to support a candidate. He further questioned the supposed influence of a “catch-and-kill” operation led by former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
“The notion that stories in the National Enquirer would sway the election is absurd. Millions of people voted. To think that a 2015 meeting at Trump Tower would impact an election defies logic,” Blanche said.
Blanche concluded his defense by outlining 10 points of reasonable doubt, emphasizing the public nature of some stories that prosecutors accused Trump of illegally concealing and the lack of evidence supporting the claim that Trump had an intent to defraud or even that he had any direct involvement in the payments at the heart of the case.
The defense attorney argued to the jury that the $420,000 payment from Trump to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen was intended for legal services, not to reimburse hush money paid to Daniels. Blanche explained that Cohen had requested his annual bonus, not repayment for the hush money.
“Do you believe that for a second?” Blanche asked the jurors, challenging the notion that Trump would agree to pay Cohen $420,000 when he only owed him $130,000, the amount of the hush money payment. “After being denied his bonus in 2016 despite believing he had worked tirelessly, do you think Mr. Cohen would decide to work for free?”
Addressing the 34 counts alleging falsified records in the first degree, Blanche highlighted that the charges require proof of an “intent to defraud,” which he defined as having a conscious objective or purpose to deceive in making the allegedly false filings.
“There is no evidence of that, ladies and gentlemen,” Blanche stated. “How can there be an intent to defraud when [Trump] disclosed it to the IRS, tweeted about it, and included it in his Office of Government Ethics forms?”
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The jury, consisting of 18 members, with 12 tasked to deliberate and six sitting as alternates, will soon decide Trump’s fate, starting deliberations as early as Wednesday.
The 34 charges include 11 counts of falsified invoices, 12 counts of falsified general ledger entries, and 11 counts of falsely recording hush money payments.