Trump mocked for his ‘ignorance’ as he rails against standard criminal trial process

Donald Trump is being mocked after he launched into a fiery rant about a very simple, common process in a criminal trial.

On the eve of closing arguments in his hush money trial in Manhattan, the former president took to Truth Social to complain that the prosecution is being a “big advantage” in the case.

“WHY IS THE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT ALLOWED TO MAKE THE FINAL ARGUMENT IN THE CASE AGAINST ME? WHY CAN’T THE DEFENSE GO LAST? BIG ADVANTAGE, VERY UNFAIR. WITCH HUNT! DJT,” he wrote.

What Mr Trump fails to understand is that this is the typical procedure for almost every criminal trial.

Usually, the prosecution delivers its closing statement first, then the defense.

Prosecutors are then able to deliver a rebuttal.

In the rebuttal, the state will have one last attempt to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr Trump not only falsified business records, but did so with the intent to commit or cover up another crime.

By contrast, defense attorneys do not have to prove anything or convince jurors of Mr Trump’s innocence; they only need toconvince at least one juror that prosecutors have not proved his guilt beyond reasonable doube.

Social media users were quick to point out that Mr Trump has overlooked this standard part of trial procedure in his Truth Social post on Monday night.

“Donald Trump learning in real time how trial procedures work in virtually every criminal court,” Politico senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney said in a post on X.

“Prosecutors typically get a rebuttal during closings because burden of proof lies with them, not defense.”

Even Mr Trump’s former attorney Jenna Ellis, who was also indicted alongside him in his criminal case in Georgia, chimed in, too.

“I’m sure his lawyers advised him of the