Defense and prosecution engaged in a final exchange of arms Tuesday at Donald Trump’s trial in New York, the last act before the 12 jurors retire Wednesday to decide a verdict in the first criminal trial of a former president of the States -United.
After six weeks of debate, dominated by stories of sex, money and politics, the jury will begin deliberating behind closed doors on Wednesday.
With a question: was the former President of the United States, who aspires to return to the White House, guilty of 34 falsifications of accounting documents, intended to hide a payment of $130,000 to the actress of Stormy Daniels porn films to avoid a sex scandal at the very end of her 2016 presidential campaign?
A positive response would cause a political earthquake.
The 77-year-old Republican candidate could appeal and, in any case, run in the November 5 election against 81-year-old Joe Biden. But under the considerable weight of the first criminal conviction of a former president.
During a six-hour indictment, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass tried one last time to convince the jurors that behind the accounting falsifications, “the heart of this case is a conspiracy and a cover-up” to win the election against Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Donald Trump’s intention to cheat “could not be more obvious,” thundered the magistrate just before the former president left the courtroom around 8 p.m.
” How boring ! », We could read in the afternoon on his account of his Truth Social network.
“Referendum”
The money was used to buy the actress’s 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 about a “consensual” act but where the “balance of power” was unbalanced.
The Stormy Daniels story “is twisted, it makes people uncomfortable. It is this unpacking in front of the American people that the accused wanted to avoid,” assured Mr. Steinglass.
“Stormy Daniels is the motive,” he insisted.
But for Donald Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, “there was no intention to defraud and no conspiracy to influence” the vote. And the payment to Stormy Daniels was only the result of “extortion” against the Republican candidate.
At the end of a three-hour argument, the lawyer warned the jurors against any temptation to make their verdict a “referendum” for or against Donald Trump, whose return to power some Americans fear.
“If you stick” to the evidence, “it’s a not guilty verdict, quickly done, well done,” concluded the lawyer.
“Dangerous Day”
Arriving at Manhattan court 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.
At the foot of the courthouse, the famous actor Robert De Niro, a notorious anti-Trump, came to warn against a “clown” who could become a “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. Once Donald Trump was in the White House, in 2017, Michael Cohen was reimbursed, using aid, according to the prosecution, false invoices and entries disguised as “legal fees” in the accounts of the Trump Organization, hence the prosecution for accounting falsifications.
Michael Cohen, “he is the greatest liar of all time (…) a champion of lies,” assured Todd Blanche, recalling that the witness was convicted of perjury before the American Congress and that he now deals in his fight against Donald Trump with his podcast.
“Subversion”
For the lawyer, Donald Trump, then “leader of the free world”, had bigger things to worry about when he was in the White House than overseeing the smallest expenditure.
False, retorted the prosecutor: Donald Trump “is thrifty, he delves into details and he insists on signing his own checks.”
Prosecutor Steinglass also returned to this plan, decided ahead of the campaign during a meeting at Trump Tower in New York, between Michael Cohen, Donald Trump and a former tabloid boss, friend of the billionaire, to eliminate any embarrassing revelation, even if it means taking out the checkbook.
“This agreement was the subversion of democracy, which is based on the fundamental principle that voters have access to accurate information about the candidates,” he explained.
But there was nothing reprehensible there, assured Donald Trump’s lawyer on the contrary: “A campaign is designed to amplify 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 make its decision unanimously.