Donald Trump’s hush money trial: Here’s what to know as closing arguments kick off
Will a former president be convicted by a jury of his ‘colleagues’ for the first time in history?
It’s only a matter of days before a verdict is reached in Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial.
Closing arguments will begin Tuesday morning as the case comes to a close nearly six grueling weeks later.
Prosecutors face a high bar to convince a 12-person New York jury that Trump conspired to help his 2016 election campaign by paying porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about their alleged sexual encounters.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team will collect all the evidence and witness statements they claim are enough to charge Trump with 34 felony counts of “falsifying corporate records.”
It’s only a matter of days before a verdict is handed down in Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial
The jury heard impressive testimony from Trump’s former “fixer” turned enemy Michael Cohen, National Enquirer’s David Pecker and porn star Stormy Daniels herself, who described her sexual experiences with the ex-president in graphic detail.
After testimony from 22 witnesses, some salacious and some boring, and pages of documents and evidence, it all comes down to whether the prosecution or defense has presented their case better.
DailyMail.com explains what to expect this week as the case comes to a close:
Trump’s defense will be the first to argue his case
The defense will make its closing arguments first on Tuesday – in the opposite order of the trial.
Trump’s legal team is expected to vigorously defend the former president and distance him from Cohen’s payments to Stormy Daniels.
They will also reiterate some of their strongest points, namely that hush money payments are not illegal and that Trump merely wanted to spare his family the humiliation of Stormy’s alleged affair claims.
Perhaps the strongest strategy that Trump’s team will employ will be to attack the credibility of the prosecution’s “star witness,” Michael Cohen.
The defense only needs to convince one of the 12 jurors that there is not enough evidence “beyond a reasonable doubt” to prove Trump guilty by handing the ex-president a victory in the case.
After more than five weeks of jury selection, testimony from 22 witnesses and pages of documents and evidence, it all comes down to who has best presented their case
If Trump’s conviction is questioned at least once, the judge would declare a “hung jury,” leading to a mistrial.
“He is shrouded in innocence,” Trump lawyer Todd Blanche previously emphasized during opening statements about the ex-president.
“And that mantle of innocence does not leave President Trump today. It doesn’t let him go any day during this process. And it won’t leave him if you all think. You will find he is not guilty.”
The prosecutor will review the evidence and testimony
The Public Prosecution Service will follow the defense during the arguments, which are expected to last several hours.
Bragg’s team is expected to go through all the evidence they submitted during the 19 days they argued their case.
That includes 11 checks, 11 invoices and 12 receipts that prosecutors say are evidence of how Trump “falsified” records to reimburse Cohen for Stormy Daniels’ payments.
They will also have to address the defense’s argument that Cohen is a “liar” who cannot be trusted.
Last week, Judge Juan Merchan warned that closing arguments could extend into a second day.
Trump’s team will attack the credibility of the prosecution’s ‘star witness’, Michael Cohen
“In a case like this, which is a fairly lengthy case, the additions are not going to happen quickly,” he said.
The court is usually free on Wednesdays, but the judge has indicated that the proceedings will continue then so as not to further delay the deliberations.
The jury will be instructed by the judge on how to deliberate
After closing arguments, Merchan’s jury will receive instructions for about an hour on how to deliberate behind closed doors.
Last week, Merchan discussed the instructions that will be read to the 12 jurors who will decide Trump’s fate during an “indictment conference.”
In a victory for Trump, the judge said he would tell the panel to treat Trump fairly during their deliberations.
Donald Trump shook his head disapprovingly as the judge in the hush money trial criticized his lawyer for being “disingenuous” during a crucial hearing about instructions to be given to the jury.
The instruction was outside the normal language of indicting the jury as a concession to the defense.
Wording plays a key role in how the jury deliberates and experts believe they can win or lose a case.
For more than an hour, Trump’s lawyers and lawyers for the Manhattan district attorney debated the details of the text, in some cases down to a few words.
The jury deliberation will start and a verdict will be made
Once jurors are dismissed by the judge to reach an agreement in the case, expected Wednesday, they could huddle for days.
If they have questions, they can come back and ask the judge for an explanation or read back certain points from the testimony.
Trump interfered with the trial and the judge on Tuesday when the jury was sent home for a week
Legal experts say the longer the jury deliberates, the better it is for Trump.
The outcome of the case can be resolved in three ways: acquittal, conviction, or mistrial.
If Trump is convicted, his team will likely launch an appeals process that could take years.
If found guilty, Trump is unlikely to be sentenced before the 2024 elections in November.