Jurors in Donald Trump鈥檚 are expected to begin deliberations Wednesday after receiving instructions from the judge on the law and the factors they may consider as they strive to reach a verdict in the first criminal case against a former American president.
The deliberations follow a in which a Manhattan prosecutor accused Trump of trying to 鈥渉oodwink鈥� voters in the 2016 presidential election by participating in a meant to stifle embarrassing stories he feared would torpedo his campaign.
鈥淭he name of the game was concealment, and all roads lead inescapably to the man who benefited the most: the defendant, former President Donald Trump,鈥� prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told jurors.
Trump鈥檚 lawyer, by contrast, branded the star prosecution witness as the 鈥済reatest liar of all time鈥� as he proclaimed his client innocent of all charges and pressed the panel for an across-the-board acquittal.
The lawyers鈥� dueling accounts, wildly divergent in their assessments of witness credibility, Trump鈥檚 culpability and the strength of evidence, offered both sides one final chance to score points with the jury as it prepares to embark upon the momentous and historically unprecedented task of deciding whether to convict the presumptive Republican presidential nominee ahead of the November election.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, charges punishable by up to four years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. It鈥檚 unclear whether prosecutors would seek imprisonment in the event of a conviction, or if the judge would impose that punishment.
Jurors will have the option of convicting Trump of all counts, acquitting him of all counts, or delivering a mixed verdict in which he is found guilty of some charges and not others. If they deadlock after several days of deliberations and are unable to reach a unanimous verdict, Judge Juan M. Merchan may declare a mistrial.
The trial featured allegations that Trump and his allies conspired to stifle potentially embarrassing stories during the 2016 presidential campaign through hush money payments, including to who alleged that she and Trump had sex a decade earlier. His lawyer Todd Blanche told jurors that neither the actor, Stormy Daniels, nor the Trump attorney who paid her, , can be trusted.
鈥淧resident Trump is innocent. He did not commit any crimes, and the district attorney has not met their burden of proof, period,鈥� Blanche said.
With the start of deliberations just hours away, Trump posted on his social media network Wednesday morning before leaving Trump Tower for the courthouse, making another all-caps rant about the trial, the judge and Cohen.
He called it a 鈥淜angaroo Court!鈥� and falsely claimed that the judge barred him from defending himself by claiming that his alleged actions were taken on the advice of his then-lawyer, Cohen. Trump鈥檚 lawyers in March notified the court that they would not rely on that defense.
鈥淭here was no crime, except for the bum that got caught stealing from me!鈥� Trump said, apparently referring to Cohen. He added, again in all capital letters, 鈥淚n God We Trust!鈥�
Steinglass sought to defray potential juror concerns about witness credibility. Trump, for instance, has repeatedly attacked Cohen as a liar.
The prosecutor acknowledged that Daniels鈥� account about the alleged 2006 encounter in a Lake Tahoe hotel suite, which Trump has denied, was at times 鈥渃ringeworthy.鈥� But he said the details she offered 鈥� including about the decor and what she said she saw when she snooped in Trump鈥檚 toiletry kit 鈥� were full of touchstones 鈥渢hat kind of ring true.鈥�
And, he said, the story matters because it 鈥渞einforces (Trump鈥檚) incentive to buy her silence.鈥�
鈥淗er story is messy. It makes people uncomfortable to hear. It probably makes some of you uncomfortable to hear. But that鈥檚 kind of the point,鈥� Steinglass said. He told jurors: 鈥淚n the simplest terms, Stormy Daniels is the motive.鈥�
The payoff unfolded against the backdrop of the disclosure of a 2005 in which Trump could be heard bragging about grabbing women sexually without their permission. Had the Daniels story emerged in the aftermath of the recording, it would have undermined his strategy of spinning away his words, Steinglass said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 critical to appreciate this,鈥� Steinglass said. At the same time he was dismissing his words on the tape as 鈥渓ocker room talk,鈥� Trump 鈥渨as negotiating to muzzle a porn star,鈥� the prosecutor said.
Blanche, who spoke first, sought to downplay the fallout by saying the 鈥淎ccess Hollywood鈥� tape was not a 鈥渄oomsday event.鈥�
Steinglass also tried to reassure jurors that the prosecution鈥檚 case did not rest solely on Michael Cohen, Trump鈥檚 former lawyer and personal fixer who paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet. , as well as to lying to Congress. He went to prison and was disbarred, but his direct involvement in the transactions made him a key witness at trial.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about whether you like Michael Cohen. It鈥檚 not about whether you want to go into business with Michael Cohen. It鈥檚 whether he has useful, reliable information to give you about what went down in this case, and the truth is that he was in the best position to know,鈥� Steinglass said.
Though the case featured sometimes seamy discussion of sex and tabloid industry practices, the actual charges concern something decidedly less flashy: reimbursements Trump signed for Cohen for the payments.
The reimbursements were recorded as being for legal expenses, which prosecutors say was a fraudulent label designed to conceal the purpose of the hush money transaction and to illicitly interfere in the 2016 election. Defense lawyers say Cohen actually did substantive legal work for Trump and his family.
In his own hourslong address to the jury, with sweeping denials echoing Trump鈥檚 鈥渄eny everything鈥� approach, Blanche castigated the entire foundation of the case.
He said Cohen, not Trump, created the invoices that were submitted to the Trump Organization for reimbursement, and he rejected the prosecution鈥檚 caricature of a details-oriented manager. He suggested instead that Trump was preoccupied by the presidency and not the checks he was signing. And he rejected the idea that the alleged hush money scheme amounted to election interference.
鈥淓very campaign in this country is a conspiracy to promote a candidate, a group of people who are working together to help somebody win,鈥� Blanche said.
As expected, he reserved his most animated attack for Cohen, with whom he tangled during .
Mimicking the term 鈥淕OAT,鈥� used primarily in sports as an acronym for 鈥済reatest of all time,鈥� Blanche labeled Cohen the 鈥淕LOAT鈥� 鈥� greatest liar of all time 鈥� and called Cohen 鈥渢he human embodiment of reasonable doubt.鈥� That language was intentional because, to convict Trump, jurors must believe that prosecutors proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
鈥淗e lied to you repeatedly. He lied many, many times before you even met him. His financial and personal well-being depend on this case. He is biased and motivated to tell you a story that is not true,鈥� Blanche said, a reference to Cohen鈥檚 relentless and often bitingly personal social media attacks on Trump and the lucrative income he has derived from books and podcasts about Trump.
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