Donald J. Trump has urged his lawyers to take an aggressive stance in court, frequently whispering instructions and nudging them. Credit: Mary Altaffer/Associated Press. Img source: www.nytimes.com
May 27, 2024 Story by: Editor
Donald Trump’s unprecedented hush money trial, which could potentially result in the presumptive Republican presidential nominee being convicted of a felony, is nearing its end.
Here’s what to expect in the upcoming days.
On Tuesday, both the prosecutors and Trump’s defense team will deliver their closing arguments. This will be each side’s final opportunity to recap the evidence presented over the past several weeks and to persuade the jurors to support their respective cases.
Prosecutors are likely to highlight testimony from the 20 witnesses they called, who collectively described how Trump allegedly orchestrated a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels, arranged by the now-disbarred attorney Michael Cohen, just before the 2016 election. Daniels claimed to have had an extramarital affair with Trump in 2006.
Central to the case is a series of monthly checks, invoices, and other financial documents from 2017. Prosecutors and Cohen testified that these documents showed Trump reimbursing Cohen for the $130,000 hush money payment, falsely labeled as legal services. These documents are the basis of the falsified business records charges against Trump.
The prosecution also presented testimony from David Pecker, former CEO of the National Enquirer’s publisher, who stated that he had an agreement with Trump to publish favorable stories about him, run negative stories about his political opponents, and suppress damaging stories about Trump.
Despite the defense’s assertion that Trump was unaware of the repayments, prosecutors will likely point out Trump’s own emphasis in his books on the importance of a businessman overseeing every dollar spent.
Trump’s defense team is expected to use their closing arguments to undermine the credibility of the prosecution’s key witnesses, Cohen and Daniels. They argued at trial that Cohen, a convicted felon, cannot be trusted as he admitted to lying on Trump’s behalf and to Congress. They also highlighted minor inconsistencies in Daniels’ accounts of her alleged encounter with Trump and emphasized that she profited from her story, notably through a 2018 memoir.
The defense also maintained that hush money payments are not illegal per se, and criticized the Manhattan district attorney’s office for pursuing the case.
The 12 jurors could begin deliberations as soon as Wednesday. Before starting their discussions, Judge Juan Merchan will provide instructions, which he indicated will take at least an hour.
The time required for the jurors to reach a unanimous verdict could vary from minutes to several days. Whatever their decision, it will be historic as the first jury verdict on criminal charges against a former U.S. president.
Trump is also facing over 50 charges in three other indictments, including two related to election interference and one concerning classified documents taken from the White House. Trial dates for these cases have not yet been scheduled.
Recently, Trump delivered a problematic speech at the Libertarian National Convention, where he faced boos from the audience. He urged libertarian voters to support his candidacy, warning them against continuing to achieve only “3% every four years.” Source: Huff Post
