Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the trial of former US President Donald Trump are making their closing arguments to the jury, as closing arguments begin in a New York City courtroom.
Trump's defense team on Tuesday morning made its latest attempt to convince jurors that the former president did not cover up evidence of a hush payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 US election.
“President Trump is innocent. He committed no crime and the district attorney failed to meet his burden of proof. Period,” said Trump lawyer Todd Blanche.
Prosecutors will seek to outline their claim that Trump illegally falsified business documents to cover up the payment, which they say was intended to ensure that Daniels would not go public with her claim that she had a sexual encounter with the former president.
The closing arguments, which will last most of the day, come after nearly two dozen witnesses took the stand since late April in the landmark case, the first criminal trial of a former president in U.S. history.
Trump, who has pleaded not guilty and accused prosecutors of carrying out a politically motivated “witch hunt” against him, remains the presumptive Republican presidential candidate ahead of the US elections in November.
If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison, although jail time is unlikely for a first-time offender convicted of such a crime.
A conviction will not stop Trump from trying to take the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden in the November election, and it will not prevent him from taking office if he wins.
But a guilty verdict could hurt Trump's chances in what is expected to be a tight race against Biden, as recent polls show some Trump supporters would not vote for him if he is convicted of a felony.
Prosecutors have the burden of proving Trump guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt,” the level of certainty required by U.S. law. They will present their closing arguments after the defense, as is customary in New York criminal trials.
“This is a dark day in America. We have a rigged court case that should never have been filed,” Trump told reporters as he entered the courtroom on Tuesday. “We'll see how it goes. This is a very dangerous day for the United States. “It is a very sad day.”
The case centers on a $130,000 payment that Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to Daniels in the final days of the 2016 election.
Trump has denied Daniels' claim that she had a sexual encounter with him in 2006, and his lawyer, during hours of questioning at trial, accused her of making it up.
When Trump repaid Cohen, the payments were recorded as legal services, which prosecutors said were designed to conceal the true purpose of the transaction with Daniels and to illegally interfere in the 2016 election, in which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. .
Trump's lawyers maintain they were legitimate payments for actual legal services, and say his celebrity status, particularly during the campaign, made him a target for extortion, points they are expected to revisit during their closing arguments Tuesday.
The defense has also attempted throughout the trial to discredit prosecution witnesses, including Cohen, whom they have tried to portray as a serial liar who has an ax to grind against his former boss.
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges related to hush money payments, as well as lying to the US Congress.
After closing arguments are presented on Tuesday, the judge will instruct the jury, probably on Wednesday, on the law governing the case and factors it may take into account during deliberations.
There is no time limit for deliberating and the verdict may not come by the end of the week.
To reach a verdict, all 12 jurors must agree with the decision for the judge to accept it. If the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict, a deadlock would occur and the judge would declare a mistrial.
