OnPolitics: Closing arguments kick off in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial
Hi OnPolitics readers. Closing arguments in former President Donald Trump's New York hush money trial began on Tuesday, bringing the historic case to a critical point as the prosecution and defense sum up their sides to 12 jurors.
A reminder from Paste BN's Aysha Bagchi: Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in order to conceal or commit another crime. Prosecutors argue Trump falsified records tied to reimbursing his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, for an unlawful $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
🎤What did Trump's lawyers say? One of Trump's attorneys, Todd Blanche, told the jury that the hush money payment to Daniels was the product of "an extortion" rather than attempt to influence the 2016 election.
He also contended that Trump lacked the necessary "intent to defraud" when he listed his reimbursements to Cohen as legal expenses.
💬 What did prosecutors say? Prosecutors in the case haven't delivered their closing arguments yet, but tap here for Paste BN's look at what they could say.
🔮 What comes next? After closing arguments, Judge Juan Merchan will deliver instructions to jurors on the law they must apply in the case.
Read more here: Catch up with Paste BN's live coverage of Trump's hush money trial
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