As The Trump Trial Reaches Its Final Stages, A Look Back At How We Got Here

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The finish line is in sight.

Over the course of five weeks, around 20 witnesses have taken the stand in a lower Manhattan courtroom to testify in the criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump. All but two of them were called by New York state prosecutors. Each filled in details about how Trump allegedly covered up a hush money payment to the porn actor Stormy Daniels that now-disbarred attorney Michael Cohen made in desperation just days before the 2016 election in order to cover up her claims of an affair with Trump.

Trump has, of course, pleaded not guilty to the 34 felony charges. His lawyers have argued there was no crime, pointing to the fact that hush money payments are not inherently illegal.

Prosecutors say the surrounding circumstances are what change everything.

Now, the first criminal trial of a U.S. president is reaching its final stages, though jurors have been dismissed until next week due to scheduling issues surrounding the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Attorneys for both parties are expected to give their closing remarks on the same day. New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan will then read to the jurors carefully crafted instructions on how to weigh the evidence and how to decide whether the prosecution has met their burden.

Then, as soon as Wednesday, the jury will go off and deliberate — for minutes, hours or days. What happens when they are finished will be historic, no matter what they decide.

The minutiae of daily courtroom proceedings can make it harder to step back and look at the big picture, but that is the task that awaits the jury.

In April, the prosecution began by rolling