Today we'll have closing arguments in the trial of the Malignant Loser/ Don Snoreleone on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a conspiracy to cover up payments to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election. It's likely the case will go to the jury tomorrow, pending last minute desperation moves by the defense:
Donald Trump’s first criminal trial has arrived at its dramatic final act with lawyers for both sides primed on Tuesday to hammer home their cases before jurors consider a verdict that could make history.
The summations mark the climax of a trial that started more than a month ago. They are expected to last all day Tuesday and could stretch into the following day. After Judge Juan Merchan instructs jurors on the law, Trump and the rest of the country will be held in suspense to see whether he will become the first ex-president and presumptive GOP nominee to be convicted of a crime after allegedly falsifying financial records to hide a hush money payment to an adult film star in 2016. [snip]
Trump’s defense team is trying to spare their client the ignominy of a conviction that would stain his reputation. The ex-president’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, is expected to zero in on the credibility of Trump’s former fixer-turned-nemesis, Michael Cohen, who endured a bruising cross-examination, and to ask why other key figures in the ex-president’s business and personal orbit were not called by prosecutors, CNN’s Kara Scannell reported.
Joshua Steinglass, who is conducting closing arguments for the prosecution, will follow Blanche and is expected to spend several hours taking the jury through text messages, phone logs, other witnesses’ testimony and the 34 allegedly falsified documents to corroborate Cohen’s testimony. Ultimately, the team working for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, will try to convince seven men and five women jurors that Trump orchestrated a scheme to keep unflattering information from voters in what was an early example of election interference...
You can follow live updates here. What's the over/ under on him staying awake?
A unanimous jury is required for conviction on any count, so there are several verdict permutations possible. Any outcome other than guilty verdicts would benefit the Malignant Loser, of course. Fingers crossed.
(Photo: awake, for now/ Yuki Iwamura-Pool/Getty Images)
