StoriesMay 28, 2024

Attorneys in Donald Trump’s hush money trial have finished their closing arguments after a marathon day in court

MICHAEL R. SISAK, JENNIFER PELTZ, ERIC TUCKER and JILL COLVIN - Associated Press
FILE - Former President Donald Trump closes his eyes during his trial at Manhattan criminal court May 16, 2024, in New York. Trump has spent the majority of his time as a criminal defendant sitting nearly motionless, for hours, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, so zen he often appeared to be asleep. It is, at least in part, a strategy in response to warnings that behaving like he has in past trials could backfire.
FILE - Former President Donald Trump closes his eyes during his trial at Manhattan criminal court May 16, 2024, in New York. Trump has spent the majority of his time as a criminal defendant sitting nearly motionless, for hours, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, so zen he often appeared to be asleep. It is, at least in part, a strategy in response to warnings that behaving like he has in past trials could backfire.Mike Segar - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Manhattan Criminal Court, May 21, 2024 in New York. Trump has spent the majority of his time as a criminal defendant sitting nearly motionless for hours, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. It is in part a strategy in response to warnings that behaving like he has in past trials could backfire. Trump has also been able to speak several times a day to a gaggle of media camped outside the courtroom, giving him an outlet to vent his frustrations.
FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Manhattan Criminal Court, May 21, 2024 in New York. Trump has spent the majority of his time as a criminal defendant sitting nearly motionless for hours, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. It is in part a strategy in response to warnings that behaving like he has in past trials could backfire. Trump has also been able to speak several times a day to a gaggle of media camped outside the courtroom, giving him an outlet to vent his frustrations.Michael M. Santiago - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan criminal court, May 21, 2024, in New York. Trump has spent the majority of his time as a criminal defendant sitting nearly motionless, for hours, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, so zen he often appeared to be asleep. It is, at least in part, a strategy in response to warnings that behaving like he has in past trials could backfire.
FILE - Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan criminal court, May 21, 2024, in New York. Trump has spent the majority of his time as a criminal defendant sitting nearly motionless, for hours, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, so zen he often appeared to be asleep. It is, at least in part, a strategy in response to warnings that behaving like he has in past trials could backfire.Justin Lane - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump speaks following the day's proceedings in his trial Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York.
Former President Donald Trump speaks following the day's proceedings in his trial Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York.Michael M. Santiago - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump speaks alongside his attorney Todd Blanche following the day's proceedings in his trial Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York.
Former President Donald Trump speaks alongside his attorney Todd Blanche following the day's proceedings in his trial Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York.Michael M. Santiago - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump speaks alongside his attorney Todd Blanche following the day's proceedings in his trial Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York.
Former President Donald Trump speaks alongside his attorney Todd Blanche following the day's proceedings in his trial Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York.Justin Lane - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jurors take notes as Stormy Daniels testifies in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York. The testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial is all wrapped up after more than four weeks and nearly two dozen witnesses, meaning the case heads into the pivotal final stretch of closing arguments, jury deliberations and possibly a verdict. The deliberations will proceed in secret, in a room reserved specifically for jurors and in an process that's intentionally opaque.
Jurors take notes as Stormy Daniels testifies in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York. The testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial is all wrapped up after more than four weeks and nearly two dozen witnesses, meaning the case heads into the pivotal final stretch of closing arguments, jury deliberations and possibly a verdict. The deliberations will proceed in secret, in a room reserved specifically for jurors and in an process that's intentionally opaque.Elizabeth Williams - ugcr, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Judge Juan Merchan, right, speaks to Donald Trump regarding his contempt ruling in Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 6, 2024, in New York.
Judge Juan Merchan, right, speaks to Donald Trump regarding his contempt ruling in Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 6, 2024, in New York.Elizabeth Williams - ugcr, ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court, May 13, 2024, in New York. The testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial is all wrapped up after more than four weeks and nearly two dozen witnesses, meaning the case heads into the pivotal final stretch of closing arguments, jury deliberations and possibly a verdict. Expect the defense to attack the credibility of Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the payment and who was accused by Trump's lawyers of lying even while on the witness stand.
FILE - Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court, May 13, 2024, in New York. The testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial is all wrapped up after more than four weeks and nearly two dozen witnesses, meaning the case heads into the pivotal final stretch of closing arguments, jury deliberations and possibly a verdict. Expect the defense to attack the credibility of Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the payment and who was accused by Trump's lawyers of lying even while on the witness stand.Julia Nikhinson - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
This combination photo shows, top row from left, Michael Cohen on May 14, 2024, in New York, Stormy Daniels on May 23, 2018, in West Hollywood, Calif., Hope Hick on Feb. 27, 2018, in Washington, and bottom row from left, Jeffrey McConney on Nov. 15, 2022, in New York, David Pecker on Jan. 31, 2014, in New York and Madeleine Westerhout on April 2, 2018, in Washington. After 22 witnesses, testimony is over at former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York. Prosecutors and Trump's lawyers are scheduled to make their closing arguments Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
This combination photo shows, top row from left, Michael Cohen on May 14, 2024, in New York, Stormy Daniels on May 23, 2018, in West Hollywood, Calif., Hope Hick on Feb. 27, 2018, in Washington, and bottom row from left, Jeffrey McConney on Nov. 15, 2022, in New York, David Pecker on Jan. 31, 2014, in New York and Madeleine Westerhout on April 2, 2018, in Washington. After 22 witnesses, testimony is over at former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York. Prosecutors and Trump's lawyers are scheduled to make their closing arguments Tuesday, May 28, 2024.Uncredited - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court in New York, Monday, May 20, 2024.
Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court in New York, Monday, May 20, 2024.Seth Wenig - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in New York.
Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in New York.Justin Lane - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in New York.
Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in New York.Justin Lane - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in New York.
Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in New York.Justin Lane - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in his criminal hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in his criminal hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.Andrew Kelly - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in his criminal hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in his criminal hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.Andrew Kelly - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in his criminal hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in his criminal hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.Andrew Kelly - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in his criminal hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in his criminal hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.ANDREW KELLY - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump talks to reporters outside of Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in New York.
Former President Donald Trump talks to reporters outside of Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in New York.Justin Lane - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump talks to reporters outside of Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in New York.
Former President Donald Trump talks to reporters outside of Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in New York.Justin Lane - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits in court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28, 2024 in New York. Donald Trump arrived for closing arguments in his hush money trial ahead of the jury deciding whether to make him the first criminally convicted former president and current White House hopeful in history.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits in court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28, 2024 in New York. Donald Trump arrived for closing arguments in his hush money trial ahead of the jury deciding whether to make him the first criminally convicted former president and current White House hopeful in history.Spencer Platt - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 28: Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits in court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28, 2024 in New York City. Donald Trump arrived for closing arguments in his hush money trial ahead of the jury deciding whether to make him the first criminally convicted former president and current White House hopeful in history.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 28: Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits in court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28, 2024 in New York City. Donald Trump arrived for closing arguments in his hush money trial ahead of the jury deciding whether to make him the first criminally convicted former president and current White House hopeful in history.Spencer Platt - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this courtroom sketch, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, Donald Trump's attorney Todd Blanche, standing right center, gives his summation to the jury. Donald Trump is seated far left, while District Attorney Alvin Bragg is seated foreground left. Judge Juan Merchan is at the at the bench, seated upper right.
In this courtroom sketch, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, Donald Trump's attorney Todd Blanche, standing right center, gives his summation to the jury. Donald Trump is seated far left, while District Attorney Alvin Bragg is seated foreground left. Judge Juan Merchan is at the at the bench, seated upper right.Elizabeth Williams - ugcr, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump's sons Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., daughter-in-law Lara Trump and Tiffany Trump look on at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in Trump's criminal hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Former President Donald Trump's sons Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., daughter-in-law Lara Trump and Tiffany Trump look on at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in Trump's criminal hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.ANDREW KELLY - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Robert De Niro, center, argues with a Donald Trump supporter after speaking to reporters in support of President Joe Biden across the street from Trump's criminal trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Robert De Niro, center, argues with a Donald Trump supporter after speaking to reporters in support of President Joe Biden across the street from Trump's criminal trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.Seth Wenig - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this courtroom sketch, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steingless delivers the prosecution closing arguments in Donald Trump's criminal trial, in New York. Trump is seated far left with eyes closed, beside his attorney Todd Blanche. Judge Juan Merchan is seated at upper right.
In this courtroom sketch, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steingless delivers the prosecution closing arguments in Donald Trump's criminal trial, in New York. Trump is seated far left with eyes closed, beside his attorney Todd Blanche. Judge Juan Merchan is seated at upper right.Elizabeth Williams - ugcr, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in his hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before closing arguments in his hush money trial in New York, Tuesday, May 28, 2024.Spencer Platt - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump engaged in a conspiracy “to hoodwink voters” in 2016, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday during closing arguments in the former president’s hush money trial, while a defense lawyer branded the star witness as the “greatest liar of all time” and pressed the panel for an across-the-board acquittal.

The lawyers' dueling accounts, wildly divergent in their assessments of witness credibility, Trump's culpability and the strength of evidence, offered both sides one final chance to score points with the jury before it starts deliberating the first felony case against a former American president.

The landmark case, the only one of four criminal prosecutions against Trump to reach trial, centered on allegations that Trump and his allies conspired to stifle potentially embarrassing stories during the 2016 presidential campaign through hush money payments — including to a porn actor who alleged that she and Trump had sex a decade earlier.

“This case, at its core, is about a conspiracy and a cover-up,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told jurors, who are expected to begin deliberations Wednesday. He later added: “We’ll never know if this effort to hoodwink voters made the difference in the 2016 election, but that’s not something we have to prove.”

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche told jurors that neither the actor, Stormy Daniels, nor the Trump attorney who paid her, Michael Cohen, can be trusted.

“President Trump is innocent. He did not commit any crimes, and the district attorney has not met their burden of proof, period," Blanche said.

Following more than four weeks of testimony, the summations tee up a momentous and historically unprecedented task for the jury as it decides whether to convict the presumptive Republican presidential nominee ahead of the November election. The political undertones of the proceedings were unmistakable as President Joe Biden’s campaign staged an event outside the courthouse with actor Robert De Niro while Blanche reminded jurors the case was not a referendum on their views about Trump.

In a marathon five-hour argument that stretched deep into the evening, Steinglass stressed to jurors the trove of evidence they had viewed but also sought to defray potential concerns about witness credibility. Trump and his legal team, for instance, have repeatedly denounced Cohen as a liar.

The prosecutor acknowledged that Daniels' account of the alleged 2006 encounter in a Lake Tahoe hotel suite, which Trump has denied, was at times “cringeworthy.” But he said the details she offered — including about decor and what she said she saw when she snooped in Trump’s toiletry kit — were full of touchstones “that kind of ring true.”

He said the story matters because it “reinforces (Trump's) incentive to buy her silence."

“Her story is messy. It makes people uncomfortable to hear. It probably makes some of you uncomfortable to hear. But that’s kind of the point,” Steinglass said. He added: “In the simplest terms, Stormy Daniels is the motive.”

The payoff unfolded against the backdrop of the disclosure of a 2005 “Access Hollywood" recording in which Trump could be heard bragging about grabbing women sexually without their permission. Had the Daniels story emerged after that recording, it would have undermined his strategy of spinning away his words, Steinglass said.

"It’s critical to appreciate this,” Steinglass said. At the same time he was dismissing his words on the tape as “locker room talk,” Trump “was negotiating to muzzle a porn star,” the prosecutor said.

Blanche, who spoke first, sought to downplay the fallout by saying the “Access Hollywood” tape was not a “doomsday event.”

Steinglass also maintained that the prosecution's case did not rest solely on Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and personal fixer who paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet. Cohen later pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in the hush money payments, as well as to lying to Congress. He went to prison and was disbarred, but his direct involvement in the transactions made him a key trial witness.

“It’s not about whether you like Michael Cohen. It’s not about whether you want to go into business with Michael Cohen," Steinglass said. “It’s whether he has useful, reliable information to give you about what went down in this case, and the truth is that he was in the best position to know.”

Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, charges punishable by up to four years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.

The two sides also differed on a recording Cohen made of himself and Trump discussing what prosecutors say was a plan to buy the rights to the story of a Playboy model, Karen McDougal, from the National Enquirer, after the publication's parent company paid her $150,000 to keep quiet about an affair she says she had with Trump. Trump has denied that affair too.

Blanche said the September 2016 recording, which cuts off before the conversation finishes, is unreliable and isn’t about McDougal at all, but rather about a plan to buy a collection of material the tabloid had hoarded on Trump. Steinglass said the recording was part of a “mountain of evidence” against Trump.

Though the case featured sometimes seamy discussion of sex and tabloid industry practices, the actual charges concern something decidedly less flashy: reimbursements Trump signed for Cohen for the payments.

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The reimbursements were recorded as being for legal expenses, which prosecutors say was a fraudulent label designed to conceal the purpose of the hush money transaction.

Defense lawyers say Cohen actually did substantive legal work for Trump and his family. But Steinglass said that argument is undermined by a 2018 Trump tweet in which the then-president described the arrangement with Cohen as a “reimbursement” while insisting it was unrelated to his candidacy.

"Mr. Cohen spent more time being cross-examined at this trial than he did doing legal work for Donald Trump in 2017,” Steinglass quipped. “Do you think there’s any chance Donald Trump would pay $42,000 an hour for legal work by Michael Cohen?”

In his own address to the jury, Blanche castigated the case's entire foundation.

He said Cohen, not Trump, created the invoices submitted to the Trump Organization for reimbursement, and he rejected the prosecution's caricature of a details-oriented manager, suggesting instead that Trump was preoccupied by the presidency and not the checks he was signing. And he mocked the idea that the alleged hush money scheme amounted to election interference.

“Every campaign in this country is a conspiracy to promote a candidate, a group of people who are working together to help somebody win,” Blanche said.

He reserved his most animated attack for Cohen, with whom he tangled during a lengthy cross-examination.

Mimicking the term “GOAT,” used primarily in sports as an acronym for “greatest of all time,” Blanche labeled Cohen the “GLOAT" — greatest liar of all time — and called him “the human embodiment of reasonable doubt.”

“He lied to you repeatedly. He lied many, many times before you even met him. His financial and personal well-being depend on this case. He is biased and motivated to tell you a story that is not true,” Blanche said, a reference to Cohen's social media attacks on Trump and the lucrative income he has derived from books and podcasts about Trump.

The attorney's voice became even more impassioned as he revisited one of the more memorable moments of the trial: when Blanche sought to unravel Cohen's claim that he had spoken to Trump by phone about the Daniels arrangement on Oct. 24, 2016.

Cohen testified that he had contacted Trump's bodyguard, Keith Schiller, as a way of getting a hold of Trump, but Blanche asserted that at the time Cohen was actually dealing with a spate of harassing phone calls and was preoccupied with that problem when he spoke with Schiller.

“That was a lie,” Blanche said, "and he got caught red-handed.”

In his testimony, Cohen acknowledged a litany of past lies, many of which he said were intended to protect Trump. But he said he had subsequently told the truth, at great cost: “My entire life has been turned upside-down as a direct result,” he said.

Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.

Follow the AP's coverage of former President Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.

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