NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s historic secret trial depends on the testimony of a prosecution witness who told lies on the stand and is unreliable, a defense lawyer said Tuesday during closing arguments as he pressed jurors for acquittal in the first criminal case against a former American president. .
The arguments, which are expected to last all day, give lawyers one last chance to address the Manhattan jury and make final points with the panel before they begin deliberating Trump’s fate.
“President Trump is innocent. He committed no crime, and the district attorney failed to meet his burden of proof, period,” said defense attorney Todd Blanche, who said the evidence in the case should “leave you in doubt.”
In an hour-long speech to the jury, Blanche attacked the fundamental premise of the case, which accuses Trump of conspiring to hide secret payments that prosecutors say were made in his name during the 2016 presidential election to suppress a porn star’s claim. that she had sexual intercourse. meeting with Trump a decade earlier.
Blanche countered the prosecution’s portrayal of Trump as a detail-oriented manager who paid close attention to the checks he wrote and rejected the idea that the alleged secret money scheme amounted to 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 summaries represent an important and historically unprecedented task for the jury in deciding whether to convict the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in connection with the payments.
Because prosecutors have the burden of proof, they will present their arguments last.
Prosecutors will tell jurors they heard enough testimony to convict Trump on all charges, while defense lawyers aim to create doubt about the strength of the evidence by targeting Michael Cohen’s credibility. Trump’s former lawyer and personal aide pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in the hush money payments and served as the prosecution’s star witness in the trial.
“You cannot convict President Trump of any crime beyond a reasonable doubt based on the word of Michael Cohen,” Blanche said, adding that Cohen “told him a series of things that were lies, pure and simple.”
After closing arguments, the judge will instruct the jury on the law governing the case and factors the panel may consider during deliberations.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, charges punishable by up to four years in prison. He pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. It is unclear whether prosecutors would seek prison if convicted or whether the judge would impose such punishment if asked.
The case revolves around a $130,000 payment Cohen made to porn actress Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 election to prevent her from publicly sharing her story of a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump 10 years ago. before, in a hotel suite in Lake Tahoe. . Trump denied Daniels’ account, and her lawyer, during hours of questioning at trial, accused her of making it up.
When Trump reimbursed Cohen, the payments were recorded as being for legal services, which prosecutors say were designed to conceal the true purpose of the transaction with Daniels and to illegally interfere in the election in which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump’s lawyers claim these were legitimate payments for real legal services and say his celebrity status, especially during the campaign, made him a target for extortion.
Blanche, while giving a PowerPoint presentation to jurors, pointed to emails and depositions showing that Cohen actually worked on some legal matters for Trump that year. Although Cohen characterized this work as “minimal,” Blanche argued otherwise.
“Cohen lied to you. Cohen lied to you,” Blanche said, her voice becoming more emphatic.
Blanche also sought to distance Trump from the mechanics of the refunds, saying checks to Cohen were written while Trump was preoccupied with the presidency in 2017.
He pointed to testimony from a former Trump Organization controller, who told jurors he never spoke with Trump about how to characterize payments sent to an accounts payable employee. Blanche also noted that another Trump aide said Trump signed checks while meeting with people or on the phone, without knowing what they were.
The nearly two dozen witnesses included Daniels, who described in sometimes vivid detail the encounter she says she had with Trump; David Pecker, former editor of the National Enquirer, who testified that he used his media company to protect Trump by suppressing stories that could harm his campaign, including paying a former Playboy model $150,000 to keep her from going public an allegation that she had a yearlong affair with Trump; and Cohen, who testified that Trump was closely involved in hush money discussions. “Just pay,” the now-disbarred lawyer said, quoting Trump.
Prosecutors are expected to remind jurors of the bank statements, emails and other documentary evidence they viewed, as well as an audio recording in which Cohen and Trump can be heard discussing the deal involving Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump also denied a relationship with McDougal.
Defense lawyers called two witnesses – neither of them Trump. They focused much of their energy on discrediting Cohen, pressing him about his own criminal history, his past lies and his recall of important details.
Under interrogation, for example, Cohen admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from Trump’s company, asking to be reimbursed for money he hadn’t spent. Cohen acknowledged once telling a prosecutor that he felt Daniels and his lawyer were extorting Trump.
The New York indictment is one of four criminal cases pending against Trump as he tries to reclaim the White House from Democrat Joe Biden. It is unclear whether any of the others will face trial before the November election.
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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.
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