Cohen’s credibility, campaigning at court and other takeaways from Trump trial’s closing arguments

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers and Manhattan prosecutors made their final pitches Tuesday to jurors who will decide whether the Republican will be the first former U.S. president convicted of a crime, squaring off over the strength of the evidence and credibility of the prosecution’s star witness as his hush money trial drew toward a close.

After listening to more than four weeks of testimony, the panel of New Yorkers sat attentively through closing arguments that stretched from morning until dinner time.

The jury could begin deliberating as early as Wednesday to decide if Trump is guilty of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign to a porn actor who claimed she had sex with him. Trump says Stormy Daniels’ story is a lie and that he’s innocent of the charges.

Here are some takeaways from closing arguments:

ALL ABOUT MICHAEL COHEN

Trump attorney Todd Blanche had a clear message for jurors: The prosecution’s case rests on the testimony of Trump fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen, and he can’t be believed. Cohen is a crucial witness because he made the $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels and the reimbursements to Cohen are what prosecutors say were falsely logged as legal expenses.

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