Trump's Legal Team Drops Nuke In Closing Arguments - CASE CLOSED!
In their closing statements, the defense team in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial delivered a detailed analysis of Michael Cohen’s testimony and company records, asserting that these clear the former president.
Juror Todd Blanche addressed the jury around 10:30 a.m., questioning the credibility of Cohen, Trump’s former fixer. Blanche highlighted whether it was plausible that Cohen would work “for free,” as he allegedly claimed.
“Do you believe that for a second? That after getting stiffed on his bonus in 2016 when he thought he had worked so hard… Do you think Mr. Cohen thought ‘I’m going to work for free’ — Is that the man that testified or is that a lie?” he asked the jury.
Cohen's testimony also covered his anger over the Trump Organization reducing his 2016 bonus, which led him to negotiate a $420,000 payment plan with CFO Alan Weisselberg. This amount reportedly included the $130,000 paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Blanche argued that Cohen’s claims about this encounter lacked supporting evidence or corroborating witnesses.
“The idea that President Trump would agree to pay (Michael) Cohen $420,000” when he only owed him $130,000 “is absurd,” Blanche stated, according to CNN.
“That’s what Mr. Cohen wants you to believe happened in that meeting where Mr. Weisselberg walked in with that piece of paper and supposedly showed it to President Trump. That is absurd,” Blanche emphasized, underscoring the last three words.
According to former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney’s testimony, “nobody would know” about the discrepancy, Blanche continued.
Blanche asserted that among the witnesses who testified in court, one said, “I don’t know and I didn’t care,” while another stated that no one would know. Holding up a bank statement that detailed the payments, Blanche argued that the main claim was false. He remarked about Cohen, Weisselberg, and Trump, “Again, you have to understand — if you take Mr. Cohen’s narrative of what transpired — that they were all in this together.”
Blanche suggested that the prosecution wanted the jury to believe that Cohen and Trump discussed the repayment plan for the hush money in the Oval Office during an early 2017 meeting, rather than focusing on the evidence. "He informed you that he will be meeting his boss in the Oval Office for the first time in his life," Blanche remarked. "He wants you to think that way." However, six days later, Cohen emailed McConney to ask about the payment amount. Blanche used this to challenge the prosecution’s claim that Trump directly ordered the payment, saying, “Just six days later Cohen doesn’t even know how much it’s supposed to be.”
Blanche argued that Trump Organization personnel did not attempt to hide the payment, noting that McConney would have likely destroyed the documents if they were incriminating. “He didn’t try to destroy them; he didn’t get rid of them,” Blanche contended. Similarly, President Trump disclosed the payment to the Office of Government Ethics.
“How can it be that there was any intent to defraud by President Trump when he discloses it to the IRS, he tweets about it and he submits it on his Office of Government Ethics forms?” Blanche asked.
Legal experts predict that Trump might be acquitted soon. Most proceedings in the case have favored Trump, including intense cross-examinations of Daniels and Cohen and the jury’s selection of attorneys who are likely to focus on the facts of the case rather than the sensational aspects of the alleged crime.