Donald Trump’s secret trial in New York has entered its final phase with the start of final arguments on Tuesday.
At the heart of the case revolves around the fact that Trump’s team allegedly mischaracterized a giant payment made to an adult film actress in an attempt to buy her silence about their alleged affair in 2006, even though Trump claimed to have been blackmailed but paid anyway. .
The prosecution’s star witness, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former legal counsel, in the midst of the defense attorney’s remarks as he addressed the 12 jurors.
“President Trump is convicted of any crime beyond a moderate doubt based on Michael Cohen’s comments,” attorney Todd Blanche said.
Blanche noted that Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, among other charges, in 2018 and spent just over thirteen months in prison. The charges he faced at the time were similar to lies he claimed to have made in an attempt to protect Trump. But he has a key witness for prosecutors and other officials prosecuting the former president after his conviction, and he offers to cooperate with them.
Blanche also suggested the jury set aside her other reviews of the real estate mogul and former Manhattan president.
“This is not a referendum on your views on President Trump,” Blanche told jurors, nor on her plans to vote later this year. Quick and easy verdict for no blame. ”
Meanwhile, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass described the alleged cover-up of dealings beyond Trump with Daniels as a component of his last-minute crusade in 2016.
“This plan, worked out through those men right now, could very well be what got President Trump elected,” Steinglass argued.
He suggested to the jury to “silence the noise and forget about the shows”.
“If you did that, you’ll see that other people presented strong evidence of the defendant’s guilt,” he said.
Steinglass described the “conspiracy” as an attempt to prevent Daniels’ “confusing” and “uncomfortable” story from reaching voters’ ears in the run-up to the vote.
Trump, who is in his second term in the White House in the November election, is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records.
These come with Cohen allegedly seeking to cover the target of a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
Daniels said the money was given to her to silence her about a sexual relationship she had with the Republican in 2006. Trump claims it’s a hush up payment for his “false and extortion charges. ”
Cohen made the $130,000 payment out of his own pocket, but charges about how Trump’s real estate company falsely recorded the payments to Cohen in its financial records and whether Trump had full knowledge of the plan.
The prosecution claims that the payment made to prevent the public from being informed of the alleged sexual encounters before the election, alleging that concealing the purpose of the bills amounted to illegal cross-financing.
The defense says any mistakes in describing the bills were made without Trump’s knowledge, saying he was preoccupied with more vital issues as president.
To view this video, please allow JavaScript and switch to an internet browser that supports HTML5 video.
The jury will retire as planned following the final presentation of the indictment with a possible, if not likely, verdict this week.
The charges can carry a criminal sentence of up to four years, but this would be Trump’s first felony conviction and the maximum sentence is unlikely to be imposed.
Even if convicted, U. S. law does not prevent a convicted felon from running for president.
Trump, who attended the trial, told reporters before entering the courtroom that it was a “very damaging day for America,” calling the trial a “rigged trial that has never been filed. “
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign team and his children held their own press conference outside the courtroom, but Joe Biden’s additional campaign also sent a delegation to the venue.
Hollywood actor Robert De Niro and two police officers concerned about protecting Congress after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack spoke to reporters near the courthouse. De Niro called Trump a “clown” and a “tyrant” and warned that he opposed his return. electoral candidacy: “If he comes, I can tell you right now that he will never leave. ”
Nonetheless, the communications director for Biden’s crusade, Michael Tyler, told reporters that his presence was not meant to draw attention to the trial, but was a reaction to that attention.
“We’re not here because of what’s happening there. We are here because you are all here,” he said.
This is one of many criminal cases facing the former president and may also be the only one that ends before the Nov. 5 election.
km/msh (AP, Reuters)