Jurors will now deliberate before delivering a verdict in historic New York trial against former US president. Lawyers in New York have presented sweeping, hours-long closing arguments in the unprecedented criminal trial against former United States President Donald Trump, accused of unlawfully covering up hush-money payments made to an adult film star. In the coming days, a 12-member jury could make yet another historic decision: Whether Trump will be the first former US president in history convicted of a crime.
Keep reading Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to a $130,000 hush-money payment that his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The prosecution has spent weeks seeking to demonstrate that the falsifications were part of a wider scheme to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election — and prevent Daniels from going public with her claim that she had a sexual encounter with Trump. The former president and presumptive Republican 2024 presidential nominee has denied that any such encounter took place.
He also has roundly rejected the charges and dismissed the entire trial as a politicised attack. For the felony charges against Trump to stick, jurors must agree with prosecutors’ claims that the falsifications were done with the intent to commit or conceal another crime. Here’s what to know about the closing arguments and what comes next.
What did the defence say? The first pe.