NEW YORK — As the criminal trial of Donald Trump began its seventh week, the prosecution and the defense made their final pitches to jurors, sending the landmark case into deliberations Wednesday. A defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, spent three hours Tuesday hammering Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness, including accusing him of perjury. He attacked Stormy Daniels, the adult film actor whose account of a tryst with Trump in 2006 set in motion the charges the former president faces.
The prosecution countered with an even longer, more detailed summation, pushing into the evening. A prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, guided jurors through reams of evidence they had introduced and elicited, including testimony, emails, text messages and recordings. Advertisement Trump, 77, is charged with falsifying 34 business records to hide Cohen’s reimbursement for a $130,000 hush-money payment he made to Daniels.
Trump has denied the charges and the sexual encounter. Once deliberations begin Wednesday, no one knows how long they will take. If convicted, Trump — the presumptive Republican presidential nominee — could face prison or probation.
Here are five takeaways from closing arguments and Trump’s 21st day on trial. “The human embodiment of reasonable doubt.” “An MVP of liars.
” “The greatest liar of all time.” Those were words Blanche used to describe Cohen, saying Trump’s former fixer and lawyer had “an ax to grind” after being passed over for a White Hous.