As the hush money trial against former US President Donald Trump nears its conclusion, both sides have begun their closing arguments.
The 77-year-old was indicted last year in March for paying hush money to Stormy Daniels in 2016 ahead of the presidential election.
During closing remarks, Todd Blanche, who is Trump's lawyer, said the former president is innocent, questioning the credibility of Michael Cohen's testimony.
“We see that they pay close attention to testing all day, every day, and we really appreciate that,” Blanche added.
“I started by saying something that I'm going to repeat to you right now. It's as true now as it was on April 22. And that is that President Trump is innocent. He committed no crime, and the district attorney has not met his burden of proof, period, the evidence is complete,” Blanche said.
“The evidence should leave you wanting more. You should want and expect more than Michael Cohen's testimony,” Blanche said.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche argued that the case is about documents, not Stormy Daniels. He said: “It is a paper case. “This case is not about an encounter with Stormy Daniels 18 years ago.”
“An encounter occurred that President Trump has unequivocally and repeatedly denied,” the Republican's lawyer said.
“President Trump cannot be convicted of any crime beyond a reasonable doubt based on the words of Michael Cohen. They were lies. Pure and simple,” said Blanche.
