After six weeks and more than 20 witnesses, lawyers for both sides reached a conclusion. Donald Trump’s criminal trial Closing arguments are being delivered Tuesday, presenting the final case to jurors before deliberations on the verdict begin this week.
Prosecutors began their presentation Tuesday afternoon and said it would take about four hours.
Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, argued for the defense that Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s key witness in the case, should not be trusted, arguing that Trump did not commit a crime. He called Cohen “the greatest liar of all time” and urged jurors to reject his testimony.
Trump is accused of signing a scheme to illegally falsify records for the purpose of concealing them. $130,000 “silencing” payment The scheme, created by Cohen to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016, was designed to subvert election laws and keep the payments secret, prosecutors said. They claim Trump misrepresented the repayment of the $130,000 in payments as monthly checks for ongoing legal services paid during the first year of his presidency.
Trump’s lawyers argued that the checks and related records were accurate. Blanche said prosecutors failed to prove their case and told jurors that Cohen lied about several aspects of the case and at one point called his claims “absurd.”
After the jury hears both sides, the judge gives them instructions and deliberations begin. It’s likely to happen on Wednesday.
