Trump Trial Nears End with High-Stakes Outcome

Trump Trial Reaches Dramatic Conclusion

Trump’s Trial Enters Final Phase with High Stakes

The most watched trial of the century, in which final arguments from both defense and prosecuting lawyers are now expected to be presented, is in the offing with regard to the ongoing trial of Donald Trump. It is arguable the most historic trial since it may see Trump being convicted of a crime and become the first former president to suffer this fate after more than a month of trial proceedings. The charges he faces relate to accusations of falsifying financial documents in an attempt to stay quiet on an adult film actress’s hush money payment in 2016.

The jury verdict in this trial is widely seen as having monumentally important implications for Trump’s political future. And, since the threat of a Trump return to the White House is at issue, the stakes could almost not be higher. This likely will mark the lone one of the four criminal cases pending that will get before a jury prior to November.

The day before the trial ended, Trump was still defiant; in a Memorial Day message over social media, he referred to his opponents as “Human Scum.”

It Is Defense Strategy to Center on Discrediting Key Witness

Trump’s lawyer, Todd Boulanger, seeks to avert the conviction of this sort—politically damaging. He is likely to emphasize discrediting Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, who is at the heart of the case.

Now an enemy of Trump, Cohen was raked over the coals during his testimony under brutal cross-examination that forced him to admit he had perjured himself under oath. The defense is sure to seize on the omission and ask why key figures from Trump’s business life and personal world weren’t called by the prosecution.

Joshua Steinglass will cross the arguments put up by Blanche, leading the jury through the extensive evidence that has been presented in court. The prosecution said its evidence included reams of text messages, phone logs, testimony of other witnesses, and 34 documents that Cohen testified were altered to support his account of events. The prosecution would attempt to make the case that Trump was responsible for a scheme to hide information from voters that would have hurt him to win the 2016 presidency.

Potential Political Effects Trump denies the allegations vehemently at all times, saying he never had an affair with Stormy Daniels and enters a plea of not guilty. His defense team does not have to prove his innocence to the whole jury; for the failure to achieve a unanimous guilty verdict, only one to disagree with the rest is enough. This was apparent to, as the defense started to introduce evidence when they called only two witnesses before presenting their argument that the prosecutions evidence was weak to convict with criminal intent. A hung jury, and ultimately a mistrial, might actually suit Trump’s political purposes as well—and that is, for him to appear as a victim of politically motivated prosecution. And the narrative he had been building in his campaign to return to office.

Cohen’s Credibility Under Scrutiny

Throughout the trial, Blanche sought to suggest that Cohen’s testimony was so conflicted that it could not be trusted and that, therefore, the case should not go to the jury at all.

He laid a good deal of stress on Cohen admitting to perjury, which would place him on the hook for a conviction if the jury takes him at his word. The significance of closing arguments is in allowing the lawyers to crystallize very complicated issues of fact and law in the trial and to expose the stakes. The jury will ultimately have to decide whether the prosecutors of New York state prove beyond a reasonable doubt all elements of Trump’s having falsified business records with the intent to commit an entirely different crime, tangentially connected to the 2016 election.

“It’s less about the jury’s view of Cohen’s character and more about the truthfulness of his testimony, former Manhattan prosecutor Jeremy Saland told PIX11. “Whether you like Michael Cohen, whether you’d want him to date your sister, whether you’d want him to be your brother-in-law… you don’t have to like the guy. This is not a likability contest. Was he truthful in that moment in time? Was he honest and credible?” ### Making the Argument Against Trump

But the prosecution built its case methodically—in part because it knew that efforts to attack Cohen’s credibility were sure to come. All this came after weeks of testimony before the grand jury, piles of emails and bank records, phone calls, and other documents showing a conspiracy to cover up the $130,000 payment to silence Ms. Clifford. Perhaps the most damning testimony came from a former tabloid publisher, David Pecker, who detailed for prosecutors Mr. Trump’s yearslong practice of quashing embarrassing stories. The evidence from former Trump associates was also geared to show that President Trump wanted to avoid giving voters a bad impression of him, not just personally embarrassing himself.

The prosecution had also proved a paper trail that showed Cohen did act at the behest of Trump to make payments to Daniels, and even that Trump manipulated financial records to pay back Cohen, while in office as president.

Trump Faces Yet Another Test of His Personal Life Closing arguments also posed yet another test for Trump, who has earned repeated warnings from Merchan over attacks on witnesses. He has steered clear of new violations of the gag order but has continued to criticize the judge, prosecutors and the Justice Department, saying once more that the trial is part of a broad effort by President Joe Biden to ruin him with voters. Trump’s mistrust that he can get a fair trial from the 12 New Yorkers in the juror’s box has been amplified by Republican defenders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson. This is heady stuff even for any defendant, much less one looking to come back as the nation’s president. The conclusion of the trial, so close to the election, is considered likely to have relatively little effect on public opinion, which has profoundly polarized views. But a few polls have drawn a picture where conviction would hurt Mr. Trump in a tight race with Mr. Biden. Instead, a mistrial or acquittal might give Mr. Trump the opportunity to claim vindication and to further cement his argument that he was the victim of a system of justice driven by political interests.