Former President Trump returned to court Tuesday morning for closing arguments in the highly publicized “hush money” trial led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in New York City.
In April 2023, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted former President Trump on 34 felony counts related to ‘hush payments’ made to Stormy Daniels.
Trump was accused of paying porn star Stormy Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, ‘hush payments’ through his then-attorney Michael Cohen. The alleged scheme aimed to silence Daniels and prevent the story of their alleged affair from being published in the National Enquirer.
Alvin Bragg did not specify the exact charges he sought to convict Trump of in the charging documents. Bragg has yet to identify the predicate crimes clearly. Nevertheless, the court appears poised to find Trump guilty and potentially sentence him to prison.
Judge Merchan facilitated the prosecution’s case by ruling in favor of Bragg’s team, stating that the jury does not need to reach a unanimous decision on the specific “predicate” crime Trump may have committed. This decision makes it easier for the jury to convict Trump.
This is what happened in the Manhattan courthouse today:
During Tuesday’s closing arguments, President Trump’s lawyers eviscerated Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney turned key witness for the prosecution.
Judge Merchan firmly asserted his authority over the proceedings, making it clear to the jurors who is in charge of the trial.
He told the jurors that “nothing the lawyers said is evidence” and “nothing said during the summations is evidence.”
“You and you alone are the judges of the facts of this case,” he added.
“I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR EXPLAINING THE LAW, NOT THE LAWYERS. YOUR SWORN DUTY AS JURORS IS TO FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS ON THE LAW, AS YOU PROMISED ME THAT YOU WOULD,” he said.
Alvin Bragg’s prosecutors were visibly frustrated after Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, argued that Trump shouldn’t be imprisoned for something that isn’t a crime.
Judge Merchan grew visibly upset when Todd Blanche made a sarcastic remark about Bragg’s prosecutors aiming to sentence Trump to prison.
This is coming from the individual who has consistently threatened to jail Trump for violating gag orders.
Judge Merchan yelled at Todd Blanche at the top of his voice: “YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO MAKE A STATEMENT LIKE THAT IN MY COURTROOM!”
