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☆ The tense tick, tick, tick of jury deliberations at Trump’s first criminal trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Trump’s vigilAs Merchan laid out his instructions for the first time on Wednesday, Trump watched from the defense lawyers’ table. Trump’s routine — aimed at voters as he seeks to delegitimize the case before the jury makes up its mind — is getting old. One new wrinkle Wednesday was his warning that the jury instructions could doom his defense. These charges are rigged.”The jury hears none of this, so it’s clear Trump is playing an outside political game. Two of the jurors are attorneys and could potentially give deliberations some structure, according to Jeff Swartz, a former Florida judge.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, tugging, David Pecker, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Cohen, ’, Daniels, Juan Merchan, what’s, doesn’t, it’s, Elie Honig, Merchan, Todd Blanche, —, CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Joe Biden, “, Theresa, Jeff Swartz, ” Swartz, ” Organizations: CNN, mull, Trump, Prosecutors, Manhattan, Attorney’s Office, New York City —, Boeing, GOP Locations: Manhattan, Ireland, New York, New York City, West Harlem, Florida

☆ Trump found guilty in hush money trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Jeremy Herb | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A Manhattan jury found Donald Trump guilty of all 34 charges of falsifying business records Thursday, an unprecedented and historic verdict that makes Trump the first former president in American history to be convicted of a felony. And if he defeats President Joe Biden in November, he will be the first sitting president in history to be a convicted felon. The verdict in the hush money trial was announced after jurors deliberated for nearly 12 hours over two days. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks to the media after a jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, on Thursday, May 30, in New York. “There’s only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box,” Biden wrote on X, linking to a fundraising page.

Persons: Donald Trump, he’s, Joe Biden, ” Trump, ”, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Michael Cohen, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Trump, Bragg, Donald J, Seth Wenig, Daniels, Juan Merchan, Todd Blanche, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, “, ” Blanche, Biden, ” Biden, ” Michael Tyler, Hunt, Mike Johnson, Kaanita Iyer, Annie Grayer, Celina Tabor, Kara Scannell, Lauren del Valle, Laura Dolan Organizations: CNN, Trump, White, CNN Manhattan, Attorney, Democrat, Manhattan, Republican National Convention, GOP, “ Locations: Manhattan, “, New York, Milwaukee, Celina

☆ Live Updates: Jury to Review Testimony as Deliberations Resume in Trump Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Jesse Mckinley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Mr. Bragg has accused Mr. Trump of concealing a federal campaign finance violation and a state election-law crime. The defense argued that Mr. Trump was a victim of extortion, led by Mr. Cohen. The defense’s main witness was a lawyer linked to Mr. Trump’s circle, Robert J. Costello, who in 2018 had acted as Mr. Cohen’s back channel to Mr. Trump’s legal team. The maximum sentenceThe charges against Mr. Trump are all Class E felonies, the lowest category of felonies in New York. But nothing in the law requires Justice Merchan to imprison Mr. Trump if he’s convicted by a jury.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Trump’s, Michael D, Cohen, Daniels, Alvin L, Bragg, Juan M, Karen McDougal, Playboy’s, ”, McDougal, Cohen’s, Hope Hicks, Mr, Robert J . Costello, Merchan, Justice Merchan Organizations: Prosecutors, The National Enquirer, Trump Tower, White, Trump, Defense, Mr Locations: New York City, Manhattan, Nevada, New York

☆ Trump's jury asked to re-hear the judge's 'rain metaphor' instruction — here's what that might mean
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewThe jury in Donald Trump's criminal hush-money trial had a specific request before starting deliberations on Thursday — they asked to hear again what they described in a note as the judge's "rain metaphor" instruction. It advises a jury that they can infer that it's raining — by seeing someone's wet umbrella, for example — even if they don't see the rain themselves. The "rain metaphor," as the jury note called it, is often used by judges in jury instructions. AdvertisementOn Wednesday afternoon, they asked for the judge to read back roughly a half-hour of testimony. After the judge completed his recitation of the jury instructions, two of the court stenographers re-read portions of the testimony.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, Juan Merchan, Merchan, scribbled, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, Donald Trump, MARK PETERSON, Getty Images Trump, Michael Cohen, stenographers, David Pecker Organizations: Service, Business, New, Trump, Getty Images, Election, National Enquirer Locations: raincoats

☆ Opinion: Trump verdict is a pyrrhic victory for Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Opinion Cnn Contributors | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

CNN —CNN Opinion asked our contributors to weigh in on Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Are there really that many voters whose view of Trump as a man, or politician, could be altered by bookkeeping irregularities? How many would-be Trump voters will be swayed against him because of miscategorized business expenses? Instead of validating Trump’s narcissism, Democrats should turn the camera away from Trump and toward the American people. Democrats should make the case that Trump’s policies would decimate the middle class and that ought to be a (metaphorical) crime.

Persons: Patrick Brown, Patrick T, Brown, —, Trump, Attorney Alvin Bragg, ”, Biden, Robert De Niro, Stacy Schneider, Rikers Stacy Schneider, Juan Merchan, Donald Trump, I’ve, Trump’s, There’s, ” Timothy C, Tim Parlatore Tim Parlatore, Michael Cohen’s, Karen McDougal, Daniels, today’s, Timothy C, Paul Begala, ’, Roe, Wade, kowtowing, Vladimir Putin, Bill Clinton’s, Clinton, Jennifer Rodgers, Judge Juan Merchan, Prosecutors, Donald Trump’s, Merchan, Will, it’s, they’d, he’d, “, Joey Jackson, Donald, Michael Cohen, Cohen, Cohen’s Organizations: CNN, Progressives, Trump, haven’t, Attorney, Republicans, Public Policy Center, Economic, Parlatore Law, LLP, Navy, Paul Begala CNN, Social Security, Democratic, Manhattan, NYU School of Law, Columbia Law School, Republican Party, GOP, Team Trump Locations: Manhattan, Washington , DC, New York, Trump, Russian

☆ Trump trial jury set to begin deliberations in New York criminal hush money case
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former US President Donald Trump attends his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 16, 2024. Jurors in the criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump are set to begin deliberating a potential verdict Wednesday, after they receive instructions from a judge in a New York courtroom. Trump's lawyer and a prosecutor gave closing arguments all day Tuesday and into the early evening. The case marks the first time a former U.S. president has faced criminal charges. Cohen testified at trial in Manhattan Supreme Court that he paid Daniels at Trump's direction to buy her silence about an alleged one-time sexual tryst with Trump in 2006.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, Michael Cohen, Daniels, Cohen, Hillary Clinton, Trump's, Juan Merchan Organizations: Manhattan Criminal, Republican, Trump Organization, Prosecutors, Democratic Locations: New York City, New York, U.S, Manhattan

☆ Can Trump vote in November if he's convicted of a felony in New York?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Jane C. Timm | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

That means that Florida voters like Trump would lose their voting rights only if the state where they are convicted would disenfranchise them for the crime, too. New York prohibits those serving time behind bars for felony convictions from voting, and voting rights are restored as soon as the individual leaves prison. Those convicted of felonies who do not go to prison never lose their voting rights. In the event of Trump losing his voting rights in Florida, there would also be avenues for him to regain them. Trump could seek clemency to restore his voting rights in Florida, where GOP Gov.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Blair Bowie, wouldn't, Bowie, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Ron DeSantis —, DeSantis, who's Organizations: U.S, Manhattan Criminal, Trump, Center, GOP Locations: New York City, Manhattan, New York, Florida, . New York, York, Trump's Manhattan, Washington ,

CNN —The jury in Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial finished its first day of deliberations Wednesday without reaching a verdict after meeting for more than four-and-a-half hours. ET to resume deliberations, but the 12 men and women will also again hear from Judge Juan Merchan. Jurors also want to re-hear Merchan’s instructions on the law that he had given them earlier Wednesday morning. The testimony the jurors are requesting relates to interactions Trump had directly with Pecker. While most federal judges will send the actual document with the jury as it deliberates, New York state courts forbid this practice.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Juan Merchan, David Pecker, Michael Cohen, Trump, Karen McDougal’s, Cohen, Pecker, Joe Biden, Merchan, Stormy Daniels, ” Merchan, Elie Honig, “, ” Honig, ”, They’ve Organizations: CNN, National Enquirer, AMI, Trump, New Locations: York, New York, Manhattan

☆ Live Updates: Jury to Consider Felony Charges Against Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Ben Protess | Jonah E. Bromwich | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

☆ What Penalties Could Trump Face if He Is Convicted?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Kate Christobek | More About Kate Christobek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If Donald J. Trump is convicted, it will be up to Justice Juan M. Merchan to decide whether his punishment will include prison time. Mr. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the coverup of a $130,000 hush money payment that was made to the porn star Stormy Daniels in the days leading up to the 2016 election. But if Mr. Trump is convicted on more than one count, Justice Merchan would likely impose the punishment concurrently, meaning he would have Mr. Trump to serve prison time on each of the counts simultaneously. Incarceration is not a given: Justice Merchan could instead opt to impose a sentence of probation, with no prison time. Mr. Trump would then be required to regularly report to New York City’s Probation Department.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Justice Juan M, Merchan, Stormy Daniels Organizations: Justice, Department Locations: New York State, New York

☆ How they'll decide: Read the jury instructions for the historic Trump hush-money trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Laura Italiano | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Jabin Botsford-Pool/Getty ImagesFalsifying business records in the first degreeThe standard jury charge for falsifying business records in the first degree. NYCourts.govProsecutors say Trump caused 34 business records to be falsified as part of an illegal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. Merchan read to jurors from the standard jury charge for felony falsifying business records. Read the judge's "jury charge" here. To convict, jurors must find that Trump falsified business records to conceal an attempt to violate 17-152.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, intently, Juan Merchan, Trump, Donald Trump, Todd Blanche, Emil Bove, Jabin, reimbursements, Trump's, Michael Cohen, Cohen, Daniels, Merchan, Jane Rosenberg, Donald Trump , Jr Organizations: Service, Business, Trump, Getty, NYCourts.gov Prosecutors, REUTERS, New Locations: New, New York, York

☆ Opinion: Robert De Niro should have turned down role with Biden campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( David Axelrod | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Biden did not want to feed Trump’s feverish charge that he was the cause of the former president’s myriad legal problems. But Biden and his campaign has mostly gone for the capillary, not the jugular. (It’s also a little bewildering why Team Biden, struggling with younger voters, cast De Niro as its point man here. Navigating Trump’s legal thicket has been a challenge for Biden from the start. Predictably, the Trump campaign jumped all over Tuesday’s events, accusing the Biden campaign of desperation and jury tampering.

Persons: David Axelrod, ”, Barack Obama, Obama, Robert De Niro, Joe Biden, Donald, Biden, Trump, “ I’ve, Niro, De, De Niro, he’s, it’s, Fingers, De Niro’s, It’s, Gen, Donald Trump Jr, Jr Organizations: CNN, White, Union, Trump, Twitter, Facebook, Biden Locations: Manhattan, De Niro

☆ Jury Deliberations Are Starting in Trump’s Trial. Here’s How They Work.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Kate Christobek | More About Kate Christobek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The jurors’ verdict on each count — guilty or not guilty — must be unanimous. Mr. Trump also must remain inside the courthouse while the jury is deliberating. If the jury finds that he is guilty of even one of the counts, the judge will sentence Mr. Trump at a later date. But if they find that he is not guilty of all of the charges, Mr. Trump will be acquitted. If the jurors cannot reach a verdict, they will inform the judge, who will urge them to continue their deliberations.

Persons: Trump, Stormy Daniels

☆ Jury Will Consider Felony Charges Against Trump on Wednesday
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Ben Protess | Jonah E. Bromwich | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Jurors in Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial will begin deliberations on Wednesday after hearing hours of closing arguments that portrayed the case in stark and irreconcilable terms. It could take hours, days or even weeks for the 12 New Yorkers to reach a verdict in the first criminal trial of an American president. And before they begin deliberating, the jurors will receive instructions from the judge on the relevant law. This last stage of the weekslong case comes a day after the jurors watched both sides deliver their final flurry of arguments. The woman, Stormy Daniels, kept quiet after Mr. Trump’s onetime fixer, Michael D. Cohen, bought her silence with a $130,000 hush-money deal.

Persons: Donald J, Joshua Steinglass, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Trump’s, Michael D, Cohen

☆ Judgment day looms for Donald Trump in New York
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —Donald Trump, who built a mystique as the brash epitome of power, has never been more powerless to dictate his own fate. In order to convict Trump, jurors must first decide that he falsified financial documents and did so with the express purpose of committing another crime. That was evidenced, today by the Biden campaign themselves holding a rally here,” Don Trump Jr. said. “You cannot convict President Trump,” Blanche said, before repeating himself for emphasis while impressing on the jury the gravity of the historic deliberation that lies before them. “You may say, who cares if Mr. Trump slept with a porn star 10 years before the 2016 election?

Persons: Donald Trump, Judge Juan Merchan, “, Joshua Steinglass, Stormy Daniels, Trump, Daniels, Todd Blanche, Michael Cohen, ”, Blanche, there’s, Joe Biden, Robert De Niro, Biden, —, Don Jr, Eric, ” Don Trump Jr, it’s, Pop Michael Jackson, That’s, Trump’s, Michael Cohen Trump, histrionics, ” Blanche, Cohen, Steinglass Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, Trump, Hollywood, Capitol, Biden, GOP Locations: New York City, York, New York

☆ Opinion: I’ve observed the Trump jury. Here’s what could be happening in deliberations
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Opinion Norman Eisen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

They are the first jury in the 235-year history of the United States to be confronted with that weighty question. The payment was made to keep her silent about allegations that she and Trump had a sexual encounter (which Trump denies) ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Merchan then offered a detailed explanation of the legal rules that the jury must apply to make those determinations. This time it was for the judge to re-read the jury instructions to them, another indicator of the care they are taking in deliberations. We will see how long their deliberations take, but this afternoon’s developments suggest that it will not be an instant process.

Persons: Norman Eisen, “, Donald Trump, ”, Juan Merchan, Donald Trump’s Manhattan, Trump, Norm Eisen, Norm Eisen Trump, Stormy Daniels, Merchan, —, David Pecker, Todd Blanche, Michael Cohen, Blanche, Pecker, Cohen, Karen McDougal, McDougal Organizations: CNN, Yorkers, National Enquirer, Trump, Twitter, Facebook Locations: American, United States, Manhattan

☆ Opinion: Mexico is about to elect its first woman president. The US isn’t heading in that direction anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Opinion Alice Driver | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

While he has stated support for Roe v Wade, in 2023, at a fundraiser Biden said, “I’m a practicing Catholic. Feminist activists demonstrate in favor of the decriminalization of abortion on International Safe Abortion Day, in Mexico City, September 2023. Silvana Flores/AFP/Getty ImagesFor decades, abortion was criminalized in Mexico, while in the US the constitutional right was established in the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, more than 20 US states ban or restrict abortion. I never imagined that.”In the US, I wonder if I will see a woman elected as president in my lifetime.

Persons: Alice Driver, ”, Mexico’s, Alice Driver Luis_Garvan, Claudia Sheinbaum, Xóchitl, “, Donald Trump, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum, Susan Segal, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Roe, Wade, Biden, “ I’m, I’m, Roe America, Silvana Flores, Verónica Cruz, ” Cruz Organizations: American Worker, Meatpacking Company, New Yorker, The New York, Oxford American, CNN, CNN —, Mexico City, Society, Americas, Roe, Getty, Mexico’s, America –, Trump, Biden, Young Texas Locations: Mexico, New, United States, New York, Roe, Mexico City, AFP, Arkansas, America, America – Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Mexican

☆ Trump trial closing arguments to begin in New York hush money case
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Donald Trump looks on before the start of trial at the Manhattan Criminal Court during trial in New York City May 20, 2024. Closing arguments in the criminal hush money trial of Donald Trump are set to begin in New York on Tuesday, with jurors on track to begin deliberations in the historic case the following day. If convicted, Trump faces a possible maximum sentence of four years in prison for each felony count. He denies Daniels' claim that the two had sex once in 2006, months after his wife Melania gave birth to their son, Barron. Matthew Colangelo told jurors that the hush money payment to Daniels, and the reimbursements to Cohen, amounted to "election fraud.

Persons: Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Trump, Daniels, Melania, Barron, D.A, Matthew Colangelo, Joe Biden Organizations: Manhattan, New York City, Attorney's Locations: New York, U.S, Manhattan

☆ Robert De Niro slams 'clown' Trump outside NY criminal trial, as Biden campaign ramps up attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"He doesn't belong in my city," De Niro, a native New Yorker, said of Trump during a press conference hosted by President Joe Biden's reelection campaign outside Manhattan Supreme Court. Immediately following the Biden campaign event, Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller accused Biden of employing a "washed-up actor" to campaign for him in a Hail Mary attempt to reverse Trump's narrow lead in 2024 election polls. The De Niro event marks the first time the Biden campaign has appeared outside Trump's trial, which began more than five weeks ago. As the criminal trial winds down, the president's reelection campaign is planning to crank up its attacks on Trump, NBC News reported Friday. Defense attorney Todd Blanche began Tuesday's closing arguments by declaring, "President Trump is innocent."

Persons: Robert De Niro, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, De Niro, Joe Biden's, —, Trump, Trump's, Harris, Niro, Harry Dunn, Jason Miller, Biden, Mary, Miller, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Joshua Steinglass, Bragg Organizations: Republican, Trump, U.S, Capitol, Biden, U.S . Capitol Police, NBC, Democratic, Manhattan, Attorney Locations: Manhattan, New York City, New Yorker, United States, White

☆ In a baffling closing argument, Trump attorney Todd Blanche used DA's evidence against his own client
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Laura Italiano | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementTrump was not involved with any such conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, Blanche told jurors in great detail on Tuesday, during a three-hour summation. "The government has to prove to you that President Trump caused these entries — even if they were false — with an intent to defraud," Blanche told jurors. "That was outrageous, Mr. Blanche," state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan told Blanche after jurors were dismissed for lunch. Advertisement"President Trump tweeted what happened when it came out," and then signed a government ethics form that also admitted to the reimbursement, Blanche told jurors Tuesday. Cohen is "literally like an MVP of liars," Blanche told jurors.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Trump, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, reimbursing Cohen, Cohen, Juan Merchan, It's, they'd, Allen Weisselberg, what's, he's Organizations: Service, Business, Prosecutors, New, BI, Trump Organization —, Trump, — Trump Locations: Manhattan, York, New York, Blanche's summations

☆ Michael Avenatti: Supreme Court turns away appeal of disgraced attorney’s extortion conviction
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( John Fritze | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined an appeal from disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti, who argued that his extortion conviction was based on a vague anti-corruption law that shouldn’t apply to lawyers making settlement demands. On his broad point, at least, Avenatti’s argument has picked up some support from members of the Supreme Court’s conservative wing. Avenatti cited the Gorsuch opinion in his appeal and argued that the Supreme Court should invalidate the law. The Biden administration countered that Avenatti’s conduct was well within the plain meaning of the prohibition – in other words, not a fringe case – and that his appeal was foreclosed by earlier Supreme Court precedent. The New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals declined to overturn Avenatti’s conviction last year.

Persons: Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels, Avenatti, it’s, Neil Gorsuch, ” Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, Biden, shouldn’t, Avenatti’s, Brett Kavanaugh Organizations: CNN, Nike, Conservative Locations: New York

☆ Trump’s family members have visited court during the hush money trial. Notably missing: Melania and Ivanka Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Steve Contorno | Kristen Holmes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

With a jury verdict potentially days away, Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump have yet to join the former president as he defends himself against 34 charges. Melania Trump, though, has not appeared alongside her husband at a single Trump rally and rarely joins him in public. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not respond when asked if she intends to accompany him for any of the final days of his trial. Ivanka Trump’s absence from the Manhattan trial is not surprising to many close to the former president after she and Kushner’s public distancing from Trump’s latest presidential campaign. “When [Ivanka Trump] was at the White House, her kids were still at the age where they might not know exactly what was going on,” the source said.

Persons: Donald Trump, –, Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Ivanka’s, Trump, hasn’t, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Eric’s, Lara, Trump’s, Tiffany, Michael Boulos, Michael Cohen, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Robert De Niro, Joe Biden’s, De Niro, it’s, ”, Lara Trump, Ronna McDaniel, Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal, Barron, Ivanka, “, Charles, Seryl Kushner, Howard Lutnick, Charles Kushner, Daniels, CNN’s Kate Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Manhattan, Attorney, Trump, Trump Jr, Biden, White, Republican National Committee, House, New, Federal, Commission, Republican Locations: Manhattan, Washington, New York, Florida, Trump

☆ Trump’s Case Heads to the Jury: 5 Takeaways From Closing Arguments
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Jesse Mckinley | Kate Christobek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump began its seventh week, the prosecution and the defense made their final pitches to jurors, sending the landmark case into deliberations on Wednesday. A defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, spent three hours Tuesday hammering Michael D. Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness, including accusing him of perjury. He attacked Stormy Daniels, the porn star whose account of a tryst with Mr. Trump in 2006 set in motion the charges the former president faces. Mr. Trump, 77, is charged with falsifying 34 business records to hide Mr. Cohen’s reimbursement for a $130,000 hush-money payment he made to Ms. Daniels. Mr. Trump has denied the charges and the sexual encounter.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Todd Blanche, Michael D, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Joshua Steinglass, Daniels

☆ Defense Lawyers to Begin Closing Arguments in Trump’s Criminal Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Jonah E. Bromwich | Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Donald J. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial will enter its final stage Tuesday as defense lawyers and prosecutors deliver their closing arguments in a last attempt to sway the 12 New Yorkers who will decide his fate. First the defense and then the prosecution will spend hours weaving disparate strands of evidence into a cohesive story that they hope will resonate with the jurors. The undisputed facts concern that $130,000 transaction; Mr. Cohen paid the porn star, Stormy Daniels, to silence her story of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. Prosecutors have argued that Mr. Trump directed Mr. Cohen to pay Ms. Daniels and approved a criminal scheme to reimburse Mr. Cohen, disguising the repayments by saying that they were made for legal services that in fact were nonexistent. Their case is backed by the testimony of Mr. Cohen himself, as well as Ms. Daniels, several other witnesses and phone records, text messages and emails.

Persons: Donald J, Yorkers, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, Mr Organizations: Prosecutors

Cohen testified that Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller put Trump on the phone so Cohen could tell him he was going forward with the Daniels payment. Blanche also said that prosecutors offered no evidence connecting Trump to the payment to Daniels outside of Cohen’s testimony. They speak in coded language, and they speak fast,” Steinglass said of Cohen and Trump. “Trump is deputizing Cohen right in front of Pecker so that Pecker knows that any go ahead from Cohen is a go head from Trump. When the “Access Hollywood” story came out in October 2016, Steinglass said that Trump and the campaign went into panic mode.

Persons: ”, Donald Trump, Michael Cohen –, Stormy Daniels, Cohen, Juan Merchan, Michael Cohen’s, Todd Blanche, Trump’s, Blanche, Tom Brady, ” Blanche, Keith Schiller, Trump, Daniels, Schiller, texted Schiller, “, Michael Cohen, Merchan, there’s, Joshua Steinglass, David Pecker, ” Steinglass, Steinglass, “ Hey, Keith, how’s, Karen McDougal, “ Trump, deputizing Cohen, Donald J, Pecker, Allen Weisselberg, Weisselberg, Jeff McConney, “ I’m, –, Dino, McDougal Organizations: CNN — Prosecutors, Trump, Defense, ” Prosecutors, CNN, AMI, ”, Trump Organization, Trump Org, ” Defense, Trump . Trump Locations: Trump’s New York, Trump, Weisselberg

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