WASHINGTON (AP) — Closing arguments in former President Donald Trump’s landmark New York case began Monday in a Manhattan courtroom where jurors will be tasked with deciding whether deceptive cash bills to conceal an affair amount to a felony conviction.
The first felony trial against a former U. S. president focuses on Trump’s allegedly falsified records to conceal a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, with whom he denies having a sexual relationship.
Assistant U. S. Attorney Matthew Colangelo told jurors Monday that bills Trump made to Daniels in 2016, which he reimbursed his former attorney Michael Cohen for legal fees, were aimed at “influencing the presidential election,” according to the court.
“This case considers criminal conspiracy and fraud. The defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election, and then covered up that conspiracy by lying over and over again in his business records in New York,” Colangelo argued. , according to current events.
The New York court does not allow audio or video recording, but will provide transcripts on its website.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche argued in favor of Trump, who he said will be called “President Trump” during the trial “out of respect” and because he “earned” that title.
Blanche told the jury, “President Trump is innocent. President Trump has committed no crime. The Manhattan district attorney has never brought this case. “
Claiming that Trump is unaware of the nuances of the payments, Blanche argued, “You will be informed that President Trump has nothing to do with any of the 34 papers. . . Except he signed the checks. “
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree to reimburse Cohen.
Blanche also asked jurors to reject the theory of the election interference charge: “I have a spoiler alert: There’s nothing that’s looking to influence an election, it’s called democracy,” she said, according to reporters in court.
Trump raised his fist and answered questions as he left the courtroom to take a short break after his opening remarks, according to reporters.
Prosecutors on Monday called David Pecker, the former chairman of the National Enquirer’s parent company, as its first witness. Pecker participated in a scheme with Cohen to identify and buy, dubbed “catch and kill,” damaging stories about Trump before the 2016 election.
Prosecutors are also expected to call Cohen, who has already served time for the payments, and Hope Hicks, a former press secretary for Trump’s campaign.
The trial could last more than a month, or even two, which would leave the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election out of the campaign four days a week.
The process in New York overlaps with arguments over Trump’s immunity scheduled for Thursday before the U. S. Supreme Court.
The former president says he enjoys absolute immunity from criminals for his movements while in office, adding immunity from Jack Smith’s special allegations that he conspired to overturn the effects of the 2020 presidential election, which culminated in a violent attack on the U. S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. .
New York Judge Juan Merchan rejected Trump’s request to attend Supreme Court arguments, saying he will have to attend his trial in Manhattan, according to media reports.
In morning posts on his Truth Social social media platform, Trump blamed President Joe Biden, though the case is playing out in the state, and repeated his refrain that the lawsuit was politically motivated. He wrote, partially in capital letters, that he will now be “DELAYED in a courtroom and no longer allowed to crusade for the presidency of the United States!”
by Ashley Murray, Michigan Preview April 22, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — Closing arguments in former President Donald Trump’s landmark New York case began Monday in a Manhattan courtroom where jurors will be tasked with deciding whether deceptive cash bills to conceal an affair amount to a felony conviction.
The first felony trial against a former U. S. president focuses on Trump’s allegedly falsified records to conceal a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, with whom he denies having a sexual relationship.
Assistant U. S. Attorney Matthew Colangelo told jurors Monday that Trump’s invoices to Daniels in 2016, which he reimbursed his former attorney Michael Cohen as legal fees, were going to “influence the presidential election,” according to court reporters.
“This case considers criminal conspiracy and fraud. The defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election, and then covered up that conspiracy by lying over and over again in his business records in New York,” Colangelo argued. , according to current events.
The New York court does not allow audio or video recording, but will provide transcripts on its website.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche argued in favor of Trump, who he said will be called “President Trump” during the trial “out of respect” and because he “earned” that title.
Blanche told the jury, “President Trump is innocent. President Trump has committed no crime. The Manhattan District Attorney has never brought this case. “
Claiming that Trump is unaware of the nuances of the payments, Blanche argued, “You will be informed that President Trump has nothing to do with any of the 34 papers. . . Except he signed the checks. “
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree to reimburse Cohen.
Blanche also asked jurors to reject the theory of the election interference charge: “I have a spoiler alert: There’s nothing that’s looking to influence an election, it’s called democracy,” she said, according to reporters in court.
Trump raised his fist and answered questions as he left the courtroom to take a short break after his opening remarks, according to reporters.
Prosecutors on Monday called David Pecker, the former chairman of the National Enquirer’s parent company, as its first witness. Pecker participated in a scheme with Cohen to identify and buy, dubbed “catch and kill,” damaging stories about Trump before the 2016 election.
Prosecutors are also expected to call Cohen, who has already served time for the payments, and Hope Hicks, a former press secretary for Trump’s campaign.
The trial could last more than a month, or even two, which would leave the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election out of the campaign four days a week.
The process in New York overlaps with arguments over Trump’s immunity scheduled for Thursday before the U. S. Supreme Court.
The former president says he enjoys absolute immunity from criminals for his movements while in office, adding immunity from Jack Smith’s special allegations that he conspired to overturn the effects of the 2020 presidential election, which culminated in a violent attack on the U. S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. .
New York Judge Juan Merchan rejected Trump’s request to attend Supreme Court arguments, saying he will have to attend his trial in Manhattan, according to media reports.
In morning posts on his Truth Social social media platform, Trump blamed President Joe Biden, though the case is playing out in the state, and repeated his refrain that the lawsuit was politically motivated. He wrote, partially in capital letters, that he will now be “STUCK in a courtroom and no longer allowed to crusade for the presidency of the United States!”
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Ashley Murray covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Their policy spaces come with internal policies and credits.
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