A New York prosecutor told a jury that Donald Trump participated in a plot to corrupt the 2016 election and then tried to cover it up, as lawyers presented their closing arguments Tuesday in the criminal trial of the former US president. United States for the purchase of silence.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told jurors they must consider whether Trump, 77, falsified business records to cover up paying a porn star for silence before the 2016 presidential election.
He also argued that the jury must consider broader political concerns, such as the possibility that Trump and his allies, such as tabloid editor-in-chief David Pecker, undermined the election by controlling what information reached voters.
“This scheme, concocted by these men at that time, could very well be what got President Trump elected,” Steinglass said.
Jurors could begin deliberations as early as Wednesday.
Steinglass spoke after a Trump lawyer asked jurors to set aside personal opinions about Trump, the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election, and determine only whether prosecutors proved their case.
“If you just focus on the evidence that you heard in this courtroom, the not guilty verdict will be very, very quick and simple,” Trump attorney Todd Blanche said.
The case relates to a $130,000 payment in the final weeks of the 2016 election to ensure that porn star Stormy Daniels would not tell voters her story about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
Blanche said Daniels was trying to extort Trump by threatening to go public with the story as he was dealing with a series of stories about sexual misconduct in the final weeks of the 2016 election Trump denies he did anything wrong and says he did not Never had sex with Daniels.
Steinglass said it was irrelevant whether Daniels wanted to get paid because Trump broke the law by hiding evidence that her handyman, Michael Cohen, had paid her $130,000 to keep quiet.
“You can’t commit voter fraud or falsify business records because you think you’re a victim,” Steinglass said.
Prosecutors said the payment to Daniels was an improper campaign contribution because it prevented voters from learning about an alleged affair that could have influenced decision-making.
Steinglass referred to testimony from Pecker, a former editor in chief of the National Enquirer, who described a deal with Trump to buy and bury stories that could damage his candidacy.
Prosecutors must prove that Trump is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt”, the standard of certainty required by US law.
A conviction will not stop Trump from trying to retake the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election. Nor will it prevent him from being inaugurated if he wins. Opinion polls show a tight race between him and Democratic President Joe Biden.
Source: Terra
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