Hiding ‘messy’ details of Trump’s tryst with Stormy Daniels is motive for his crimes, prosecutor says in closings

According to a prosecutor, the unpleasing information that Stormy Daniels shared about her past affair with Donald Trump was exactly the kind of thing Trump wanted to keep secret from voters during the 2016 election. This was mentioned during the prosecutor's final statements on Tuesday.

Assistant DA Joshua Steinglass inquired as to why so much effort was put into discrediting her.

The prosecutor started his concluding statement after the jury heard the defense's side. He suggested that the jurors should think about the reason behind Trump's lawyers putting so much effort into discrediting the adult movie star's allegations about an affair, which is not relevant to whether he is guilty of falsifying business records.

Steinglass said that the story told by Stormy Daniels was not straightforward. However, this was the key point that the defendant wanted to conceal from the public. In other words, Stormy Daniels was the reason behind the defendant's actions.

According to Steinglass, to establish Trump's culpability, the prosecutors needed to show fabricated business documents, an intention to mask a plot aimed at promoting or obstructing a candidate's election to a public office, and Trump's participation in the scheme with the intention of deceiving.

The accuser claimed that they had impacted all three counts, providing convincing proof of Trump's culpability.

Steinglass urged the panel not to be distracted by irrelevant distractions presented by the defense. He asserted that these distractions were completely unrealistic, just like their statement that Daniels attempted to blackmail Trump.

He said that Daniels' primary objective was to document the story as she felt it was the most effective means of safeguarding herself and her kin. Evidence indicated that it was Trump's camp that initiated contact with the adult film actress prior to the election, contrary to popular belief.

"They aimed to purchase it prior to Stormy Daniels' public disclosure."

According to Steinglass, they put in a lot of effort to make Daniels appear untrustworthy, humiliating her and insinuating that her account had altered over time, although this was not the case.

Lawyer Reprimanded By Judge

The hush money trial recently saw Justice Juan Merchan criticizing Todd Blanche, Trump's attorney, for improperly bringing up the possibility of imprisonment for the former president during the defense's closing statement.

The judge emphasized that it is strictly prohibited and there is no room for debate. Blanche, who had prior experience as a prosecutor and defender, should have been aware of this.

I find it difficult to envision how that could have been unintentional in any shape or form.

Towards the end of his final statement, Blanche mentioned the likelihood of Trump being imprisoned.

The judge deemed Blanche's statement as "shocking" and allowed prosecutors to ask jurors to ignore it. The judge did this before Steinglass began his closing argument.

Trump Team Calls Cohen "GLOAT" In Final Words

In the trial involving hush money paid by former President Trump, defense attorney Todd Blanche concluded his closing statement by giving 10 reasons why the jury shouldn't find him guilty. He added sports-related comparisons and emphasized to the 12 jurors in Manhattan that the prosecution's key witness was untruthful.

Do you know what GOAT means? It's an abbreviation for "greatest of all time." Todd Blanche posed this question to the jury while supporting his tenth argument that suggests Michael Cohen is the perfect example of reasonable doubt.

According to him, Michael Cohen is the greatest liar ever, commonly known as the GLOAT.

Blanche stated that there were various grounds for her argument. One was that Cohen was the one who sent the bills for his expenses, not Trump. Secondly, there is no indication that Trump had any knowledge of the record entries or checks regarding the compensation. Blanche also claimed that the prosecution got phone log proof in an unfair manner. Lastly, she pointed out that Karen McDougal, a Playboy model, did not want her narrative to be made public. This was supported by statements from Pecker and Keith Davidson.

According to Blanche, there is no fabrication of business documents and any proof of the opposite is incorrect.

Defense Disputes Crucial Evidence

Todd Blanche, who is a lawyer for Donald Trump, spoke about the vital evidence presented by the prosecution. This evidence includes a statement from First Republic Bank regarding the payment made by Michael Cohen to the lawyer of Stormy Daniels. The prosecution alleges that this payment was made to keep the adult film actress quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with the former president.

The announcement contains personally written annotations from Allen Weisselberg, the CFO of Trump Organization, determining the amount of money that Cohen was entitled to receive for the trade and additional costs.

Blanche focused on Cohen's jottings on the accurate side of the paper. They stated that he was owed a total of $50,000 for paying for a tech firm. When Cohen gave evidence, he confessed that he had only given $20,000 for that expenditure.

Blanche stated that the document is full of falsehoods.

Todd Blanche, Trump's legal representative, made every effort to weaken the prosecution's argument against Trump. He criticized Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Keith Davidson, and suggested that the jury should consider why they didn't hear from important people like Allen Weisselberg during the trial.

Starting with the 34 charges related to the checks, bookkeeping entries, and receipts accounting for Trump's payments to Cohen in 2017, Blanche declared that Trump had no involvement in any of them.

According to him, Trump was actively managing the country when he authorized the payments that were given to him. He claimed that Cohen was responsible for creating the invoices and that his firm was in charge of everything else.

Blanche alleged that Cohen was being dishonest about Trump's knowledge of him settling the payment for Daniels. Blanche claimed that Cohen acted on his own accord in hopes of gaining favor with Trump at a later time. Additionally, Blanche accused Cohen of falsifying the absence of any spoken arrangement between him and Trump to serve as his personal attorney following his presidential victory.

Blanche expressed her belief that it would be unjust for the jury to find Trump guilty solely based on the prosecution's demonstration of his attentiveness to his financial affairs. She argued that simply examining invoices, without any concrete evidence linking him to the charges in question, should not be enough to incriminate him.

Blanche dismissed the supposed plan to cheat voters through a "catch and kill" strategy, stating that it never happened. Additionally, Blanche claimed that Trump was too intelligent to truly believe that rumors published in the National Enquirer could impact the results of the election.

Blanche claimed that every political campaign in the country is a plot and defended Trump's actions as normal and consistent with how other campaigns operate.

With his arm draped over the chair's backrest, Trump listened attentively to Blanche while sitting at an angle.

Blanche commenced his conclusion by urging that one should desire and anticipate an abundance of evidence, beyond just Michael Cohen's statement. He proceeded to list additional individuals who provided testimony against his defendant, such as the renowned adult entertainer Stormy Daniels and her previous lawyer, Keith Davidson, whom he further accused of blackmail.

Blanche stated that it is not possible to prove President Trump guilty of any offense based solely on Michael Cohen's statements.

President Trump is not guilty. He did not engage in any unlawful activities, and the District Attorney has not fulfilled their obligation to provide sufficient evidence. End of story.

Following a break of seven days, the involved parties will present their last arguments to the group of New Yorkers at the Manhattan Supreme Court today, who will subsequently retire to the jury room to make a decision in the landmark case.

Trump's team will be presenting their summary first under New York law. However, the leading Republican candidate has deemed it a conspiracy and expressed his disapproval of the move in Memorial Day Truth Social posts.

Once the opposing parties have made their concluding statements, Justice Juan Merchan will provide the jurors with guidance on the applicable legislation and the process of reaching a decision.

At precisely 9:25 in the morning, Trump entered the courtroom for the very first time. He was accompanied by his two older sons, Eric and Don Jr., as well as his youngest daughter, Tiffany Trump. A team of lawyers, campaign staff, and allies were also by his side. Alvin Bragg, the District Attorney, was also there.

Trump stated outside of the courtroom that there is a judge who has a conflict of interest. He may have come close to violating the order that forbids him from speaking about the case. The reason for the conflict is known by both Trump and those present, yet Trump cannot disclose it due to the unconstitutional gag order.

Donald Trump, who is currently 77 years old, has entered a plea of not guilty in response to 34 charges of falsifying business records. These charges stem from allegations that he reimbursed Michael Cohen for a payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels, which took place just before the 2016 election. This payment was recorded in business records as payment for legal fees, rather than as compensation for keeping the matter hushed up.

The prosecution claims that Trump, Cohen, and David Pecker (previously a tabloid publisher) came up with a plan in August 2015 at Trump Tower. The plan aimed to conceal information from the voting public that could have an impact on Trump's likelihood of winning the election. The alleged payments were the final step in this scheme.

Pecker was the initial of twenty individuals who gave evidence for the prosecution in a case that lasted a month. Pecker mentioned that he accepted to help the Trump campaign by searching for negative news that could harm his chances during the election. His job included buying and hiding these stories, promoting positive stories about Trump, and sabotaging his opponents.

During the trial, the defense brought in two individuals to testify, a legal assistant and an experienced defense attorney in NYC named Bob Costello. They both claimed that Cohen was not telling the truth regarding Trump's knowledge of the payment made to Daniels. When being cross-examined by the prosecution, they attempted to prove that Cohen was pressured by Giuliani's close associate to not confess any information about Trump.

The accusations against Trump could result in a maximum sentence of four years in jail or being on probation, which would make him the first U.S. president to face such charges. It also means he might be the first person leading the country to be found guilty of a wrongdoing whilst expected to represent the Republican party as their chosen nominee in the upcoming election.