Judge Juan Marchan is scheduled to call jurors back into the courtroom on Tuesday morning to hear closing arguments from Manhattan prosecutors and defense lawyers for former President Trump in New York v. Trump, an unprecedented criminal trial.
Jurors have been out of court for a week since the evidentiary portion of the trial ended last Tuesday. Due to scheduling conflicts and the Memorial Day holiday, jurors are scheduled to return to court at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to hear summaries of the case from the prosecution and defense before reaching a verdict.
The Manhattan lawsuit filed by District Attorney Alvin Bragg against Trump became tense last Monday when the defense tried again to dismiss the case, arguing that prosecutors had not presented evidence linking the former president to falsifying business records.
Marchan has yet to announce his decision on the matter.
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Prosecutors had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election and to silence her about an alleged 2006 affair with Trump.
The former president continues to maintain his innocence.
Former President Trump sits in court during his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on May 21, 2024. (Justin Lane/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Marchant said he expects closing arguments to take up the entire day on Tuesday and has asked jurors if they can stay late. Closing arguments could continue into Wednesday.
Marchan plans to instruct the jury on Wednesday, estimating that the instructions will take about an hour, after which he will send the jury to deliberate.
Trump will be required to remain in the courtroom during verdict deliberations in case there are any jury notes, and the former president will be required to be present when jury notes are read out loud.
Judge Juan Merchan said he expects closing arguments to take up the entire day on Tuesday. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
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The defense moved to dismiss the case after Trump’s former lawyer and the prosecution’s “star witness,” Michael Cohen, finished testifying.
Cohen testified that he personally paid $130,000 to Daniels using a mortgage-backed loan to hide the payment from his wife, saying he did so because Trump told him to “handle it” to prevent damaging news from leaking before the election.
Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen has finished testifying in the New York v. Trump trial. (Getty Images)
But Trump’s legal team argued that the president never directed Cohen to make the payment.
Cohen testified that he was “refunded $420,000” of the $130,000 he paid Daniels. He said that Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, suggested the payment be “upped” and that Trump knew the details of the refund.
Prosecutors presented Cohen with 11 checks totaling $420,000. Cohen confirmed that all of the checks were received and deposited. The checks bore the mark “deposits,” which Cohen claimed was false.
But Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, said there was “no evidence” that the documents and business records at the heart of the lawsuit were false, and “there were absolutely no false business documents,” and asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed immediately.
Branche said there is no dispute that Cohen served as President Trump’s personal lawyer in 2017 and that there is no evidence or intent that President Trump intended to mislead, conceal or falsify business records.
Branche said if there was intent to defraud, records would be there and no other crimes were covered up. He also said there is no evidence anyone was thinking about claiming campaign funds when the payments to Daniels were made or when Cohen and Weisselberg drew up the repayment plan.
Stormy Daniels testified in the trial against Trump. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
Branche said records show Trump paid Cohen $35,000 in “monthly compensation” and that no evidence of criminal intent was provided by any witnesses.
Recounting the prosecution’s case, Branche pointed to the “catch and kill” tactic allegedly used to thwart the publication of a “demonstrably false” story about Trump by a Trump Tower doorman.
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“How on earth is it a crime to hide false information from voters?” Blanche asked, adding: “It’s not a catch-and-kill thing, it’s not a catch-and-kill criminal act.”
“The court should not be sending this case to a jury with Mr. Cohen’s testimony in hand,” Blanche said, adding that Cohen has lied under oath in the past and in his current criminal trial in Marchan’s court.
Marchant asked Blanche whether he should be found legally unable to trust Cohen, to which Blanche replied, “Yes.”
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“So you want me to take that away instead of leaving it in the jury’s hands?” Marchant asked, to which Blanche replied that the jury should not consider Cohen’s testimony in its entirety.
Marchant told Blanche that if Cohen’s “lies” were “irrefutable,” he would be able to convince a jury.
Prosecutors argued that under New York’s business record falsification law, anyone who “causes” the false records can be punished.
“It is more than enough as a matter of law that the defendant set in motion a chain of events that led to the falsification of business records,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo argued.
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Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom last Tuesday, Trump said his defense had already essentially “won the case.” Trump said Marchan should take a “robust” stance against Bragg.
“Any other judge would have dismissed this case,” Trump said.
