Closing arguments wrap in Trump hush money trial

Prosecutors have claimed that Trump partook in a "conspiracy and cover up" plot to hide embarrassing stories that could have hurt his election in 2016. But defense lawyers claimed that Trump has not committed any crimes, painted the prosecution's star witness Michael Cohen as "the greatest liar of all time," and claimed that prosecutors have failed to meet the "burden of proof."

By Misty Severi

Published: May 28, 2024 8:04pm

Both sides of former President Donald Trump's hush money trial concluded their closing arguments Tuesday night, and the jury is now expected to begin its deliberations as early as Wednesday morning.

The closing arguments on Tuesday marked the end of more than four weeks of testimony. The closing arguments lasted more than eight hours. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges that he falsified business records to hide alleged hush money payments, including to former porn star Stormy Daniels.

Prosecutors have claimed that Trump partook in a "conspiracy and cover up" plot to hide embarrassing stories that could have hurt his election in 2016. But defense lawyers claimed that Trump has not committed any crimes, and painted the prosecution's star witness Michael Cohen as "the greatest liar of all time," according to the Associated Press.

The defense also claimed that prosecutors have failed to meet the "burden of proof" as required by law.

If convicted, Trump will be the first former president to be convicted of a felony. The 34 felony counts are punishable by up to four years in prison.