Closing Arguments In Trump Trial Today. Here’s What To Expect.

Closing arguments are scheduled to commence Tuesday in the People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, marking the final phase of the first criminal trial of a former American president.Following the prosecution and defense closing statements, the judge will instruct the jury. The 12 jurors, who are ordinary New Yorkers, will then deliberate on whether the former president is guilty of the charges against him.The defense will present its closing argument first. Trump’s lead attorney, Todd Blanche, is expected to argue that District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecutors have not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Trump falsified business records related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the final days of the 2016 presidential election.Mr. Trump faces 34 counts of this felony charge, which carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.In his opening statement, Mr. Blanche asserted to the jury that “President Trump is innocent. President Trump did not commit any crimes.” He claimed that the money Mr. Trump paid to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen was for legal work, as shown in Mr. Trump’s company records, and not for the payment to Ms. Daniels, as prosecutors and Cohen contend.“This was not a payback,” Mr. Blanche emphasized in his opening remarks on April 22.Prosecutors are expected to argue that they have sufficiently demonstrated Mr. Trump’s responsibility for falsifying business records and that he did so to cover up another crime, a necessary component for the felony charge.Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, in his opening statement, described the payment to Cohen as part of a “planned, coordinated long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures, to silence people who had something bad to say about his behavior, using doctored corporate records and bank forms to conceal those payments along the way.”“It was election fraud. Pure and simple,” Mr. Colangelo told the jury.Once closing arguments are concluded, Judge Juan Merchan will instruct the jury on the relevant laws and the deliberation process, which is expected to take about an hour. Jury deliberations might not begin until Wednesday morning, Mr. Merchan indicated last week.

Closing Arguments In Trump Trial Today. Here’s What To Expect.

Closing Arguments In Trump Trial Today. Here’s What To Expect.

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