The jury in New York v. Trump found former President Trump guilty of charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has indicted former President Donald Trump on 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Each charge carries a maximum prison sentence of four years.
After deliberating the verdict, Judge Juan Merchan called the jurors back into the courtroom and read the verdict.
Prosecutors had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified those records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to keep her quiet about an alleged affair she had with Trump in 2006.
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Former President Donald Trump awaits the start of his trial on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York. (AP Photo/Iwamura Yuki, Pool)
In the closing argument, President Trump On Tuesday, Bragg told jurors he was innocent and had not committed any crime, saying he “has not met his burden of proof. Period.”
“President Trump is innocent. He committed no crime. The district attorney has not met his burden of proof. Period,” Blanche said.
Mr Blanche added that the case was “simple” and “not a conviction”.
“This case is about documents, this is a case on documents,” Blanche said. “This case is not about an encounter with Stormy Daniels 18 years ago. This case is not about a non-disclosure agreement that was signed eight years ago.”
Branche said the allegations concerned whether Trump had “any” involvement in payments to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, that appeared on his personal financial books.
“The answer? The record is accurate, there was no intent to fraud, and there was no conspiracy to influence the 2016 election,” Branche said. “The evidence doesn’t add up.”
NY v. Trump: Prosecutors say they presented “strong evidence” against former president
Branche told jurors they could not convict Trump based on Cohen’s testimony, recalling that Trump’s former lawyer “lied on the stand.”
“The records were not false and there was no intent to defraud,” he said.
Branche said no invoices were sent directly to Trump and that Cohen billed him for “services provided to him.” He also told jurors that Cohen provided services as Trump’s personal lawyer in 2017.
Branche noted that Cohen lied to both houses of Congress, to federal and state judges and to his family.
“You can’t send someone to prison based on what Michael Cohen said,” Branche said, adding that the sentence must be based on documents and witness evidence. “That would lead to very quick and easy acquittals.”
Meanwhile, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass delivered closing arguments that lasted more than five hours on Tuesday, saying prosecutors had presented “strong” evidence in their case against Trump.
Steinglass said Trump’s intent to defraud was “as clear as can be” and argued it would have been much easier to just pay Stormy Daniels directly. But he said Trump hatched a complex scheme and everything he and his associates did was “shrouded in lies.”
“The game is about cover-up, and all roads inescapably lead to the person who benefited most from it – the defendant, former President Donald Trump,” Steinglass said.
Steinglass defended the prosecution’s use of Michael Cohen as a witness, telling jurors: “I’m not asking for sympathy for Michael Cohen. He made his own bed.”
“But you can’t blame him for making money off the only thing he had left – knowledge of the inside workings of the Trump Organization,” he said.
“We did not select Michael Cohen as a witness, we did not have him in the witness shop,” Steinglass said. “The defendants selected Michael Cohen as their fixer because he was prepared to lie and deceive on their behalf.”
Trump’s legal team, in a second attempt to dismiss the case earlier this month, said prosecutors had not presented any evidence linking the former president to the falsification of business records. The defense filed the motion to dismiss after Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and the prosecution’s “star witness,” finished testifying.
Former President Donald Trump waves as he leaves Trump Tower on his way to criminal court, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Manhattan, New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nickinson)
Cohen testified that he personally paid $130,000 to Daniels using a mortgage-backed loan to hide the payment from his wife, and that he did so at Trump’s request to “handle it” and to prevent negative news from leaking before the election.
But Trump’s lawyers argued that the president never instructed Cohen to do so.
Former US President Donald Trump listens as attorney Todd Blanche delivers his closing arguments during the trial. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
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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.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
