Trump’s Hush Money Trial Nearly In Jury's Hands After Lengthy Closing Arguments

The criminal hush-money trial of former President Donald Trump wound down after a long day of proceedings Tuesday as attorneys for both the prosecution and the defense presented closing arguments before jurors who are expected to begin deliberations this week.

“President Trump is innocent. He did not commit any crimes, and the district attorney has not met their burden of proof. Period,” Trump attorney Todd Blanche told the jury.

The former president is charged with 34 felony counts that stem from a $130,000 payment made in October 2016 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, to porn actor Stormy Daniels, who says she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

Trump has repeatedly denied Daniels’ claim and has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

The defense presented its side of the case first. Blanche argued that Trump knew nothing about the payment to Daniels at the time it was made and that the checks at the center of the case were legitimate payments for Cohen’s legal services in 2017 as personal attorney to the president of the United States.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office opted to prosecute Trump for falsifying New York business records, structuring the charges so each corresponds to a different document — checks, invoices and other records. Trump personally signed the checks that the prosecution says reimbursed Cohen for the hush money payment, spreading them out monthly over his first year in the Oval Office, although the repayments were logged as legal expenses. Prosecutors say it was the mislabeling that makes them fraudulent records.

As he wrapped up his presentation, Blanche listed 10 aspects of the case that he thought should leave jurors with a reasonable doubt. He said there was