Trump Hush Money Trial: Closing Arguments Start As Case Nears End - 2024-05-28

Closing arguments began Tuesday in the weekslong criminal trial of Donald J. Trump , the first president to face prosecution in American history, in a case that stems from a hush-money deal to a porn star who said she had sex with him.

Mr. Trump faces several legal challenges related to his business and political activities, and the one underway in New York City was brought by the Manhattan district attorney's office. It could be the only case against him to go to trial before the 2024 presidential election.

The trial began in April and will be in the jurors' hands this week, following weeks of salacious testimony about sex scandals and granular detail about corporate documents. Mr. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, all tied to the former president's role in a hush-money payment to the porn star, Stormy Daniels .

The charges do not involve the hush deal itself but Mr. Trump 's reimbursements for it to his former fixer, Michael D. Cohen , who gave $130,000 to Ms. Daniels to buy her silence days before the 2016 election. Prosecutors said that the repayments were deliberately mislabeled as "legal expenses" in business ledgers to hide the deal.

If convicted, Mr. Trump faces probation or up to four years in prison.

The defense argued that Mr. Trump was a victim of extortion, led by Mr. Cohen . The defense's main witness was a lawyer linked to Mr. Trump 's circle, Robert J. Costello, who in 2018 had acted as Mr. Cohen 's back channel to Mr. Trump 's legal team.

The charges against Mr. Trump are all Class E felonies, the lowest category of felonies in New York. Mr. Trump would likely appeal a guilty verdict, which could take months or longer.