Trump trial live updates with closing arguments underway in "hush money" case (2024)

Toward the end of his closing statement, Blanche said: "You cannot send somebody to prison, you cannot convict somebody based upon the words of Michael Cohen." Prosecutors objected, and the objection was sustained.

Once the jury was excused for a lunch break, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Merchan, the judge, to issue an instruction to the jury about sentencing, calling the comment a "blatant and wholly inappropriate effort to gain sympathy" for Trump.

Merchan agreed, saying the comment was "outrageous" and "highly inappropriate." He said he would issue a curative instruction to the jury.

By Olivia Rinaldi

Blanche ended his argument by summarizing his reasons why jurors could reasonably doubt prosecutors' narrative of the case, and thus find Trump not guilty:

• Cohen created the invoices related to the reimbursem*nts. They're accurate, and there's no evidence that Trump knew about them.
• There's no evidence that Trump saw the vouchers associated with the payments.
• "There is absolutely no evidence of any intent to defraud," pointing to Trump's tweets and a submission to a government ethics office.
• "No intent to unlawfully influence the 2016 election," specifically in violation of a federal campaign finance law, and no evidence of an "illegal agreement" to influence the election.
• AMI would have published one of the "catch and kill" stories if it were true.
• Karen McDougal did not want her story published, and Stormy Daniels' story had already been made public in a gossip blog in 2011.
• Alleged "manipulation of evidence," casting doubt upon a recording of Trump and Cohen and the evidence gathered from Cohen's devices.
• "Michael Cohen, he's the human embodiment of reasonable doubt, literally."

The last point was Blanche's key point throughout his closing argument, and he used the opportunity to hammer it home.

"Michael Cohen is the GLOAT — he's literally the greatest liar of all time. He has lied to every single branch of Congress, both houses, the House and the Senate," Blanche said. "He has lied to federal, state judges, family, bankers, people he works with. His words cannot be trusted, and I'm going to end this summation the same way that I told you a few minutes ago, that you know you cannot rely on him."

Blanche ended by reminding jurors that the case "isn't a referendum on your views" of Trump.

"This is not a referendum on the ballot box, who you voted for in 2016 or 2020, who you plan to vote for in 2024. That's not what this is about. The verdict you are going to reach has to do with the evidence you heard here in this courtroom and nothing else," he said. "If you do that, if you focus just on the evidence you heard in this courtroom, this is a very, very quick and easy 'not guilty' verdict."

By Graham Kates

Trump's attorney continued hammering home his point that Cohen's testimony is unreliable and the jury should reject it. He pointed to comments Cohen made on the stand about his interactions with attorney Robert Costello and a phone call in 2016, when Cohen said he informed Trump about the Daniels payment. Blanche challenged Cohen's version of events in both instances, claiming he was "caught red-handed" about the phone call.

"I don't know how many lies are enough lies to just reject Mr. Cohen's testimony," Blanche said.

"Is there the same absolute proof of lies for every single thing that man told you? No, there is not," he acknowledged. "For that we have what's called an oath. We have an oath that every witness takes when they testify in front of you, the jury. And the oath matters. The oath matters to most. He lied."

Blanche said Cohen was "literally like the MVP of liars," pointing to his conviction for lying to Congress and his admission to lying under oath in a separate case.

By Graham Kates

Blanche laid out for jurors his narrative of the weeks before the 2016 election, when Cohen and Daniels' attorney were negotiating the $130,000 payment. He said that the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape on Oct. 7, 2016, provided the catalyst for Daniels to try to sell her story. On the recording from 2005, Trump can be heard saying he could "grab [women] by the p****" and "make them do anything."

The tape became a major flashpoint in the presidential campaign, but Blanche said Trump did not react in the way that prosecutors had said, trying to bolster his argument that Cohen acted without Trump's knowledge.

"The 'Access Hollywood' tape is being set up in this trial to be something that it is not. It is one of many stressful issues that came up during the 2016 campaign. It was not a doomsday event," Blanche said, noting that Trump addressed it in a video message and at the next presidential debate. "He never thought it was going to cause him to lose a campaign, and indeed it didn't."

Cohen, however, "had a different view," according to Blanche: "Michael Cohen told you that he realized it was catastrophic and he wanted to do something about it, and that's what he did with respect to Ms. Daniels."

By Graham Kates

Trump's attorney has repeatedly alluded to the fact that Daniels' claim of a sexual encounter with Trump dates back 18 years.

Blanche pointed out that the story was briefly published by, and then removed from, a gossip site in 2011. He said Daniels and her team only began the harried efforts to sell her story because they perceived Trump to be in a vulnerable position as the 2016 election approached.

"There were a group of people who wanted to take advantage of the election and ultimately extort President Trump," Blanche said.

As Blanche made this argument just a few feet away, Trump spun his chair to the right, leaning back and clasping his hands to watch. Trump nodded and smiled slightly as Blanche called the Daniels negotiation "extortion."

By Graham Kates

Blanche said Cohen made the $130,000 payment to Daniels himself, without Trump's knowledge, because he wanted to take credit for protecting his boss.

"He made a decision to pay that $130,000 to Ms. Daniels. He didn't tell President Trump about it. He wanted to do it because he knew that he could get credit from President Trump at some later time," Blanche said. "Whether they won the election or lost the election, he would be able to get that credit."

Blanche reiterated that the jury can't trust Cohen's account of his conversations with Trump.

The comments came shortly after Trump's attorney also said two examples of the National Enquirer buying stories were not actually instances of "catch and kill."

The first example was about false accusations that Trump had fathered a child with a housekeeper at Trump Tower. Pecker testified that the Enquirer declined to publish the story because it was untrue. The second was the story of Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who also said she had sex with Trump. McDougal agreed to sign over the rights to her story for $150,000 from AMI, and the agreement included a commitment for McDougal to appear on magazine covers and write columns.

"What is clear from what you heard about Ms. MacDougal — this was not a catch and kill either," Blanche said. "She did not want her story published. She wanted a career. She wasn't interested in selling her story."

By Graham Kates

The Biden campaign held a press conference outside of the courthouse Tuesday morning as closing arguments were underway.

Speakers included actor Robert De Niro and Harry Dunn, the former U.S. Capitol Police officer who testified to the House Select Committee about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

De Niro called Trump a "loser" and said he will be a "tyrant" and a "dictator" if reelected.

"This is the time to stop him by voting him out once and for all. We don't want to wake up after the election saying, 'What, again? Oh my God. What the hell have we done?'" he said.

The presser marks a bold move for President Biden and his campaign, who have generally shied away from highlighting Trump's felony trial.

Mr. Biden did, however, take a jab at Trump as the pair publicly challenged each other to presidential debates two weeks ago. "I hear you're free on Wednesdays," Mr. Biden said, alluding to the day of the week when the trial usually takes a break.

By Shawna Mizelle

Trump's attorney turned to a 2015 meeting between Cohen, Trump and David Pecker, the CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc. Pecker testified that he agreed to be Trump's "eyes and ears" during the campaign, on the lookout for negative stories.

Blanche pointed out that purchasing the rights to negative stories and declining to publish — "catch and kill" — was something the Enquirer had done "for decades," referencing Pecker's testimony that the outlet had done the same with stories about Tiger Woods, Mark Wahlberg, Arnold Schwartzenegger and others.

Blanche also said that there was "no in-depth discussion" about the alleged scheme at that 2015 meeting at Trump Tower, and that there was "no criminal conspiracy."

"Remember also that a lot of the stories were just recycled and had already been published by other organizations," Blanche said, referencing stories the Enquirer published about Trump's rivals for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. "The idea that the National Enquirer could corruptly influence an election … should hopefully make you shake your head."

By Shawna Mizelle

With Trump's sons Eric and Don Jr. seated next to each other in the courtroom looking on, Blanche displayed an email from Allen Weisselberg to Jeff McConney, a former Trump Organization executive, about a check for Cohen: "Ok to pay as per agreement with Don and Eric."

This is the first time his sons have attended the trial together, and only Don Jr.'s second time in the courtroom. Tiffany and Lara Trump also sat with them, the largest family contingent yet to show support for Trump at this trial.

"Guess who else you did not hear from in this trial? Don and Eric," said Blanche, questioning why the reimbursem*nts to Cohen would need sign-off from the Trump sons, who were running the Trump Organization when their father moved to Washington. "Is there some allegation that they're a part of this scheme, that they're a part of this conspiracy? Not a tiny bit of evidence does that. That is reasonable doubt."

"The burden is always on the government," he continued. "They called Cohen. They did not call Don and Eric."

Blanche showed two checks on the screen, signed by Eric and Don Jr., and stated that Trump had nothing to do with either.

The two sons watched Blanche, in their foreground, with the jury in their background view.

By Katrina Kaufman

Trump's attorney also took aim at the prosecution's explanation for why Cohen received $420,000, when he only paid Daniels $130,000.

On the stand, Cohen said the figure represented the $130,000 payment, plus $50,000 that Cohen owed a technology company that did work for Trump. That money was doubled to account for taxes, Cohen testified. He said the remaining $60,000 was meant to supplement his year-end bonus, which had been cut.

Blanche said the idea that Trump would pay Cohen $420,000 when he only owed him $130,000 was "absurd." He showed the jury the handwritten notes from Weisselberg on a bank statement that showed how the $420,000 was reached.

"The document the people offered to prove it is full of lies," Blanche said.

By Graham Kates

Blanche took aim at Cohen over his testimony about his status as Trump's personal attorney and the payments he received in 2017.

He showed the jury a portion of the trial transcript in which Cohen said he never had a retainer agreement with Trump.

"That was a lie, and you cannot just minimize a lie and say it was a mistake. A lie is a lie, and this was a significant lie," Blanche argued. He claimed that Trump and Cohen had a "verbal" retainer agreement, and that the monthly $35,000 checks were paying Cohen for his legal services.

"For the first time in President Trump's life, he decided to pay me back triple. Doubled up the 130, he gave me 50k for some online poll that he decided he wasn't going to pay for over a year, by the way I stole a little bit on that," Blanche said, paraphrasing Cohen's testimony about the total amount of money he received over the course of 2017.

"The story that Mr. Cohen told you on that witness stand is not true," Blanche said. "There's a reason why in life, usually, the simplest answer is the right one."

Blanche argued that it "makes more sense" that the $35,000 payments were for Cohen's legal services.

By Graham Kates

Todd Blanche, Trump's lead defense attorney, is presenting the defense's closing argument. He began by thanking the jurors for their service and said the district attorney's office had not met the burden of proof required to find Trump guilty.

Blanche said the case was about accounting, not Trump's alleged encounter with Stormy Daniels. He said the business records were accurate and Trump had "absolutely" no intent to defraud.

"This case is about documents, it's a paper case. This case is not about an encounter with Stormy Daniels 18 years ago, an encounter that President Trump has unequivocally and repeatedly denied ever occurred," Blanche said.

He also argued that Cohen, the prosecution's star witness, should not be trusted, and that jurors should "want and expect more."

"He took an oath. He swore to tell the truth and he told you a number of things on that witness stand that were lies. Pure and simple," Blanche said.

By Graham Kates

Before Trump's lawyers began their closing arguments, Justice Juan Merchan called the jury in and told them how the day would unfold. He said the defense will go first, as required under New York law. Prosecutors will follow with their closing arguments.

Merchan said the lawyers' recollection of testimony may differ from the jury's memory. He reminded the jurors that they are the "finders of fact" when it comes to rendering a verdict.

"You and you alone are the judges of the facts on this case," Merchan said, adding that he will explain to the jurors how they should apply the law.

By Graham Kates

Trump's criminal trial is now in its seventh week, and for the first time, one of his daughters is in attendance. Tiffany Trump is sitting alongside her husband Michael Boulos and two of her adult brothers, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and Eric's wife Lara Trump.

The courtroom gallery has occasionally included either of the brothers, though rarely both.

He has not had five members of his family in attendance at any of his recent trials, including two federal civil trials in which he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll and his civil fraud trial, in which he and the sons were found liable for hundreds of millions in fraud.

After closing arguments, the jury will weigh whether to add to that list a first for any former president in U.S. history: criminal conviction.

By Graham Kates