New York prosecutors and Donald Trump ’s defense team engaged in a verbal tug-of-war over Michael Cohen ’s testimony during their closing arguments on Tuesday. The former president’s former fixer was the subject of the majority of both summations, with both sides freely taking jabs at the other as the defense attempted to paint Cohen as an unreliable witness, while prosecutors reminded jurors it was Trump, not Cohen, on trial. “The question is not whether you like Cohen,” Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said during his closing arguments.
“It’s whether he has useful reliable information to give you about what went down in this case and the truth is he was in the best position to know because he was the defendant’s right hand.” “He knew about the conspiracy to influence the election and the false business records created to hide that conspiracy,” Steinglass continued. Trump’s defense team took every opportunity possible to take a jab at Cohen in what was the longest day of the trial thus far.
The defense worked for the bulk of three hours to discredit Cohen, a convicted perjurer, arguing he lied to the jury in Trump’s first criminal trial. Todd Blanche, Trump’s lead lawyer, opened his summation by thanking the jurors for their efforts to remain open-minded and attentive throughout the trial, something the defendant has proven incapable to do himself . He then leveled a litany of attacks against the prosecution’s star witness, alleging.