Jurors in Donald TrumpB次元官网网址檚 are expected to begin deliberations Wednesday after receiving instructions from the judge on the law and the factors they may consider as they strive to reach a verdict in the first criminal case against a former American president.
The deliberations follow a in which a Manhattan prosecutor accused Trump of trying to B次元官网网址渉oodwinkB次元官网网址� voters in the 2016 presidential election by participating in a meant to stifle embarrassing stories he feared would torpedo his campaign.
B次元官网网址淭he name of the game was concealment, and all roads lead inescapably to the man who benefited the most: the defendant, former President Donald Trump,B次元官网网址� prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told jurors.
TrumpB次元官网网址檚 lawyer, by contrast, branded the star prosecution witness as the B次元官网网址済reatest liar of all timeB次元官网网址� as he proclaimed his client innocent of all charges and pressed the panel for an across-the-board acquittal.
The lawyersB次元官网网址� dueling accounts, wildly divergent in their assessments of witness credibility, TrumpB次元官网网址檚 culpability and the strength of evidence, offered both sides one final chance to score points with the jury as it prepares to embark upon the momentous and historically unprecedented task of deciding whether to convict the presumptive Republican presidential nominee ahead of the November election.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, charges punishable by up to four years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. ItB次元官网网址檚 unclear whether prosecutors would seek imprisonment in the event of a conviction, or if the judge would impose that punishment.
Jurors will have the option of convicting Trump of all counts, acquitting him of all counts, or delivering a mixed verdict in which he is found guilty of some charges and not others. If they deadlock after several days of deliberations and are unable to reach a unanimous verdict, Judge Juan M. Merchan may declare a mistrial.
The trial featured allegations that Trump and his allies conspired to stifle potentially embarrassing stories during the 2016 presidential campaign through hush money payments, including to who alleged that she and Trump had sex a decade earlier. His lawyer Todd Blanche told jurors that neither the actor, Stormy Daniels, nor the Trump attorney who paid her, , can be trusted.
B次元官网网址淧resident Trump is innocent. He did not commit any crimes, and the district attorney has not met their burden of proof, period,B次元官网网址� Blanche said.
With the start of deliberations just hours away, Trump posted on his social media network Wednesday morning before leaving Trump Tower for the courthouse, making another all-caps rant about the trial, the judge and Cohen.
He called it a B次元官网网址淜angaroo Court!B次元官网网址� and falsely claimed that the judge barred him from defending himself by claiming that his alleged actions were taken on the advice of his then-lawyer, Cohen. TrumpB次元官网网址檚 lawyers in March notified the court that they would not rely on that defense.
B次元官网网址淭here was no crime, except for the bum that got caught stealing from me!B次元官网网址� Trump said, apparently referring to Cohen. He added, again in all capital letters, B次元官网网址淚n God We Trust!B次元官网网址�
Steinglass sought to defray potential juror concerns about witness credibility. Trump, for instance, has repeatedly attacked Cohen as a liar.
The prosecutor acknowledged that DanielsB次元官网网址� account about the alleged 2006 encounter in a Lake Tahoe hotel suite, which Trump has denied, was at times B次元官网网址渃ringeworthy.B次元官网网址� But he said the details she offered B次元官网网址� including about the decor and what she said she saw when she snooped in TrumpB次元官网网址檚 toiletry kit B次元官网网址� were full of touchstones B次元官网网址渢hat kind of ring true.B次元官网网址�
And, he said, the story matters because it B次元官网网址渞einforces (TrumpB次元官网网址檚) incentive to buy her silence.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淗er story is messy. It makes people uncomfortable to hear. It probably makes some of you uncomfortable to hear. But thatB次元官网网址檚 kind of the point,B次元官网网址� Steinglass said. He told jurors: B次元官网网址淚n the simplest terms, Stormy Daniels is the motive.B次元官网网址�
The payoff unfolded against the backdrop of the disclosure of a 2005 in which Trump could be heard bragging about grabbing women sexually without their permission. Had the Daniels story emerged in the aftermath of the recording, it would have undermined his strategy of spinning away his words, Steinglass said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 critical to appreciate this,B次元官网网址� Steinglass said. At the same time he was dismissing his words on the tape as B次元官网网址渓ocker room talk,B次元官网网址� Trump B次元官网网址渨as negotiating to muzzle a porn star,B次元官网网址� the prosecutor said.
Blanche, who spoke first, sought to downplay the fallout by saying the B次元官网网址淎ccess HollywoodB次元官网网址� tape was not a B次元官网网址渄oomsday event.B次元官网网址�
Steinglass also tried to reassure jurors that the prosecutionB次元官网网址檚 case did not rest solely on Michael Cohen, TrumpB次元官网网址檚 former lawyer and personal fixer who paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet. , as well as to lying to Congress. He went to prison and was disbarred, but his direct involvement in the transactions made him a key witness at trial.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not about whether you like Michael Cohen. ItB次元官网网址檚 not about whether you want to go into business with Michael Cohen. ItB次元官网网址檚 whether he has useful, reliable information to give you about what went down in this case, and the truth is that he was in the best position to know,B次元官网网址� Steinglass said.
Though the case featured sometimes seamy discussion of sex and tabloid industry practices, the actual charges concern something decidedly less flashy: reimbursements Trump signed for Cohen for the payments.
The reimbursements were recorded as being for legal expenses, which prosecutors say was a fraudulent label designed to conceal the purpose of the hush money transaction and to illicitly interfere in the 2016 election. Defense lawyers say Cohen actually did substantive legal work for Trump and his family.
In his own hourslong address to the jury, with sweeping denials echoing TrumpB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渄eny everythingB次元官网网址� approach, Blanche castigated the entire foundation of the case.
He said Cohen, not Trump, created the invoices that were submitted to the Trump Organization for reimbursement, and he rejected the prosecutionB次元官网网址檚 caricature of a details-oriented manager. He suggested instead that Trump was preoccupied by the presidency and not the checks he was signing. And he rejected the idea that the alleged hush money scheme amounted to election interference.
B次元官网网址淓very campaign in this country is a conspiracy to promote a candidate, a group of people who are working together to help somebody win,B次元官网网址� Blanche said.
As expected, he reserved his most animated attack for Cohen, with whom he tangled during .
Mimicking the term B次元官网网址淕OAT,B次元官网网址� used primarily in sports as an acronym for B次元官网网址済reatest of all time,B次元官网网址� Blanche labeled Cohen the B次元官网网址淕LOATB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� greatest liar of all time B次元官网网址� and called Cohen B次元官网网址渢he human embodiment of reasonable doubt.B次元官网网址� That language was intentional because, to convict Trump, jurors must believe that prosecutors proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
B次元官网网址淗e lied to you repeatedly. He lied many, many times before you even met him. His financial and personal well-being depend on this case. He is biased and motivated to tell you a story that is not true,B次元官网网址� Blanche said, a reference to CohenB次元官网网址檚 relentless and often bitingly personal social media attacks on Trump and the lucrative income he has derived from books and podcasts about Trump.
READ ALSO:
