“This is not a referendum on your ideas about Donald Trump,” launched the lawyer for the Republican presidential candidate, Todd Blanche, after three hours of pleading in court in New York.
The defense and prosecution are engaged in a final showdown Tuesday at Donald Trump’s trial in New York, the final act before the 12 jurors retire to decide a historic verdict, with significant stakes amid the presidential campaign. After six weeks of debates, dominated by stories about sex, money and politics, the jury will meet behind closed doors, perhaps as early as Wednesday.
With one question: did the former president of the United States, who is striving to return to the White House, guilty of 34 counts of falsification of accounting documents, intend to hide a payment of $ 130,000 to the actress of X-rated films Stormy Daniels for the purpose to avoid a sex scandal at the end of her 2016 presidential campaign?
For prosecutors, this payment is a hidden campaign expense, and it was used by Donald Trump to “to bribe” the election that was won by the thread against Hillary Clinton. “At the heart of this case is a conspiracy and a cover-up”, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass insisted Tuesday at the start of his indictment. The money was used to buy the actress’ silence about a sexual relationship she claims to have had in 2006 with the Republican billionaire, an episode denied by Donald Trump and which she spoke at length during the trial, speaking of ‘an act “consent” but where “balance of power” was unbalanced.
“Referendum”
The Stormy Daniels Story “is complicated, it makes people uncomfortable. It is this unpacking in front of the American people that the accused wanted to avoid., assured Mr. Steinglass. But for Donald Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, “there was no intent to deceive and no conspiracy to influence” vote. And the payment to Stormy Daniels was only the result of “blackmail” of the Republican candidate.
After a three-hour argument, counsel warned jurors against any temptation to give their verdict to a “referendum” for or against Donald Trump. “If You Hold” to the evidence, “It’s a not guilty verdict, done quickly, well done”he added.
If he is found guilty, the Republican presidential candidate, 77, will be able to appeal and in any case run for election on November 5. But with the significant weight of a criminal conviction, while his duel with Joe Biden, 81, promises to be close. The effort is all the more important since this trial will probably be the only one to take place before the presidential election among the four cases in which Donald Trump is accused.
“Dangerous Day”
When he arrived at the Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday, Donald Trump spoke of a “dangerous day for America”, once again presenting himself as a victim of political prosecution. Three of his children came to support him, Tiffany, Eric and Donald Jr. At the foot of the courthouse, famous actor Robert De Niro, a notorious anti-Trump, came to warn against a “clown” which could become one “tyrant”.
During its argument, the defense targeted the prosecution’s key witness, the former confidant turned sworn enemy of Donald Trump, Michael Cohen. It was he who paid Stormy Daniels at the very end of the 2016 campaign. When Donald Trump was in the White House in 2017, Michael Cohen was reimbursed for help, according to the indictment, for false invoices and records disguised as. “legal costs” in the Trump Organization’s accounts, hence the prosecution for accounting falsifications.
But Michael Cohen, “he is the biggest liar ever (…) a champion of lies”, Todd Blanche assured, recalling that the witness was convicted of perjury before the US Congress and that he is now marketing his fight against Donald Trump with his podcast. For the lawyer, Donald Trump, that is “leader of the free world”had bigger things to worry about when he was in the White House than overseeing every single expense.
The prosecutor, on the contrary, assured during his accusation that there was a well-oiled plan, which before the campaign decided between Michael Cohen, Donald Trump and a former tabloid boss, friend of the billionaire, to make any embarrassing revelation disappear. even if it means taking out the checkbook. Here again, there is nothing reprehensible, assured Donald Trump’s lawyer: “A campaign is designed to reinforce the positive aspects of a candidate. It’s a campaign, not a crime.”. The defense only needs to convince one juror not to convict Donald Trump because the jury must reach its decision unanimously.
