Donald Trump engaged in “a conspiracy and a cover-up,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told jurors during closing arguments in the former president’s hush money trial.
Meanwhile, defense lawyer Todd Blanche labeled the star witness, Michael Cohen, as the “greatest liar of all time” and urged the jury to acquit Trump on all charges.
The closing arguments presented contrasting views on witness credibility and the strength of the evidence, giving both sides a final opportunity to sway the jury in the first felony case against a former U.S. president. The trial revolves around allegations that Trump and his associates conspired to suppress potentially damaging stories during the 2016 presidential campaign through hush money payments, including to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier.
“This case, at its core, is about a conspiracy and a cover-up,” Steinglass told the jury. He added, “We’ll never know if this effort to deceive voters made a difference in the 2016 election, but that’s not something we have to prove.”
Blanche countered by telling jurors that neither Daniels nor Cohen, the attorney who facilitated the payment to her, could be trusted. “President Trump is innocent. He did not commit any crimes, and the district attorney has not met their burden of proof, period,” Blanche asserted.
After more than four weeks of testimony, the summations set the stage for the jury to deliberate on the charges against Trump, who is the presumptive Republican nominee for the upcoming presidential election. The political context was evident, with President Joe Biden’s campaign holding an event outside the courthouse featuring actor Robert De Niro, while Blanche reminded jurors that the case was not about their opinions of Donald.
Steinglass sought to address potential juror concerns about witness credibility, acknowledging that Daniels’ account of the alleged 2006 encounter was at times “cringeworthy.” He emphasized that her detailed description of the encounter added credibility to her story, which he said was crucial because it showed Trump’s motivation to buy her silence. “Her story is messy. It makes people uncomfortable to hear. But that’s kind of the point,” Steinglass said. He told jurors, “In the simplest terms, Stormy Daniels is the motive.”
The hush money payments were made against the backdrop of the disclosure of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women. Steinglass argued that had the Daniels story surfaced after the recording, it would have undermined Donald’s attempts to dismiss his words as “locker room talk.” At the same time he was downplaying the recording, Trump “was negotiating to muzzle a porn star,” Steinglass noted.
Blanche attempted to minimize the significance of the “Access Hollywood” tape, calling it a non-issue. Steinglass, however, argued that the prosecution’s case did not rest solely on Cohen, despite Trump and his legal team’s efforts to portray Cohen as untrustworthy. Cohen, who paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet, later pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the hush money payments and lying to Congress. He went to prison and was disbarred, but his direct involvement made him a key witness.
“It’s not about whether you like Michael Cohen. It’s whether he has useful, reliable information about what happened,” Steinglass said. “The truth is that he was in the best position to know.”
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, with charges carrying up to four years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty. The defense and prosecution also clashed over a recording Cohen made of a conversation with Trump discussing a plan to buy the rights to the story of Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who claimed to have had an affair with Trump. Blanche argued that the recording was unreliable and not about McDougal but about acquiring material the National Enquirer had on Trump. Steinglass called the recording part of a “mountain of evidence” against Trump.
The charges are related to reimbursements Trump signed for Cohen for the payments, which were recorded as legal expenses. Prosecutors argue this was a fraudulent label to conceal the hush money transaction and illicitly influence the 2016 election. The defense maintains that Cohen did legitimate legal work for Trump.
Steinglass pointed out that a 2018 Trump tweet referred to the arrangement with Cohen as a “reimbursement,” contradicting the claim that it was for legal services. “Mr. Cohen spent more time being cross-examined at this trial than he did doing legal work for Donald Trump in 2017,” Steinglass quipped.
Blanche attacked Cohen’s credibility, calling him the “GLOAT” — greatest liar of all time. He argued that Cohen’s testimony was biased and motivated by his financial and personal interests. “He lied to you repeatedly. He lied many, many times before you even met him,” Blanche said.
Despite Cohen’s acknowledgment of past lies intended to protect Trump, he claimed to have told the truth at great personal cost. “My entire life has been turned upside-down as a direct result,” Cohen said.
As the jury prepares to deliberate, they must decide whether the prosecution has proven that Trump engaged in a conspiracy and cover-up to influence the 2016 election through hush money payments.