[ad_1]
Donald Trump’s defense team attacked the hush money case against him on Tuesday (Wednesday morning AEST), calling the star witness a liar, trying to discredit weeks of testimony that prosecutors say proves the former president meddled in the 2016 election .through a scheme to cover up stories deemed harmful to his campaign.
Closing arguments, which were expected to last throughout the day, gave lawyers a final chance to address the Manhattan jurors and hammer out final points with the panel before it begins deliberating the fate of the first former US president to be charged with serious crimes.
In an hour-long address to jurors, Blanche attacked the basis of the case, which accuses Trump of conspiring to hide secret cash payments that prosecutors say were made on his behalf during the 2016 presidential campaign to stifle the allegation of porn actor that she had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier.
With broad denials reflecting his client’s “deny everything” approach, Blanche countered the prosecution’s portrayal of Trump as a detail-oriented manager who pays close attention to the checks he signs; disputed the claim that Trump and porn star Stormy Daniels had sex; and rejected the idea that the alleged hush money scheme constituted illegal election interference.
“Every campaign in this country is a conspiracy to promote a candidate, a group of people working together to help someone win,” Blanche said.
After more than four weeks of testimony, the summations set an important and historically unprecedented task for the jury as it decides whether to convict the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in connection with the payments.
Since prosecutors bear the burden of proof, they will present their case last.
Prosecutors will tell jurors they heard enough testimony to convict Trump on all charges, while defense lawyers seek to cast doubt on the strength of the evidence by targeting Michael Cohen’s credibility.
Trump’s former lawyer and personal agent pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in the secret cash payments and served as the prosecution’s star witness at trial.
“He’s literally like the Liars’ MVP. He constantly lies,” Blanche said of Cohen.
“He lied to Congress. He lied to the prosecutors. He lied to his family and business partners.
After closing arguments, the judge will instruct the jury on the law that governs the case and the factors the panel may consider during deliberations.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents, charges punishable by up to four years in prison.
He has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing. It is unclear whether prosecutors will seek prison terms in the event of a conviction, or whether a judge will impose that sentence if requested.
The case centers on a $US195,000 ($130,000) payment Cohen made to Daniels in the final days of the 2016 election to prevent her from going public with her story about a sexual encounter she says that she had with Trump 10 years earlier at a Lake Tahoe Hotel suite.
Trump denied Daniels’ account, and his attorney, during hours of questioning at the trial, accused her of making it up.
When Trump reimbursed Cohen, the payments were registered as for legal services, which prosecutors say was designed to disguise the true purpose of the transaction with Daniels.
Trump’s lawyers argued during the trial that these were legitimate payments for actual legal services.
Blanche, giving a PowerPoint presentation to jurors, pointed to emails and testimony showing that Cohen did work on some legal matters for Trump this year.
While Cohen characterizes this work as “very minimal,” Blanche argues otherwise.
The lawyer’s voice grew even more impassioned as he flashed back to one of the trial’s most memorable moments: when Blanche tried to dispel Cohen’s claim that he spoke to Trump on the phone about the Daniels settlement on Oct. 24, 2016 .
Cohen said he contacted Trump’s bodyguard to get in touch with Trump, but Blanche claims Cohen was actually dealing with a flurry of harassing phone calls at the time and was preoccupied with the issue.
“It was a lie,” said Blanche. “It was a lie and he was caught in the act.”
Blanche also tried to distance Trump from the mechanics of the reimbursement, saying Cohen’s checks were signed because Trump was busy with the 2017 presidency.
He pointed to testimony from a former Trump Organization comptroller who told jurors he never spoke to Trump about how to characterize payments sent to an accounts payable official.
Blanche also noted that another Trump aide said Trump would sign checks while meeting with people or on the phone without knowing what they were.
Nearly two dozen witnesses included Daniels, who described in sometimes vivid detail the meeting she said she had with Trump; David Packer, former publisher of National Enquirer, who testified that he used his media background to protect Trump by pushing stories that could hurt his campaign; and Cohen, who testified that Trump was intimately involved in the hush money discussions. “Just pay it,” the now-disbarred attorney quoted Trump as saying.
Prosecutors are expected to remind jurors of the bank statements, emails and other documentary evidence they reviewed, as well as an audio recording in which Cohen and Trump can be heard discussing the $225,000 ($150,000) payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal prevented her from going public with the claim that she had a one-year affair with Trump.
Trump also denied having a relationship with McDougal.
Defense attorneys called two witnesses — neither of them Trump.
They focused much of their energy on discrediting Cohen, pressing him on his own criminal history, his past lies and his recollection of key details.
On cross-examination, for example, Cohen admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from Trump’s company, demanding reimbursement for money he didn’t spend. Cohen admitted that he once told a prosecutor that he thought Daniels and her lawyer were blackmailing Trump.
The New York prosecutor’s office is one of four pending criminal cases against Trump, who is trying to reclaim the White House from Democrat Joe Biden.
It is unclear whether any of the others will make it to trial before the November election.
[ad_2]
