Former President Donald Trump’s Hush Money Trial Reaches Verdict Day

The high-profile trial of former President Donald Trump for alleged falsification of business records reached its pivotal verdict day in the Manhattan Criminal Court. Trump stands accused of orchestrating hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels through his former lawyer Michael Cohen just before the 2016 presidential election.

Amid a media frenzy outside the courthouse, the campaign team supporting President Joe Biden held a press conference featuring actor Robert DeNiro and two former U.S. Capitol Police officers, Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn. The officers were present to highlight the events of January 6, 2021 when they were overrun by a violent mob of Trump supporters at the Capitol.

Throughout the closing arguments, the defense portrayed Trump as a victim of extortion and ignorance, labeling Cohen as the «M.V.P. of liars», while the prosecution meticulously outlined a narrative of Trump’s alleged intent to deceive the American public leading up to the 2016 election.

The trial, which began in mid-April, has seen nearly two dozen witnesses take the stand to establish Trump’s pattern of silencing negative stories prior to the election, with key testimonies from individuals like David Pecker and Cohen exposing the inner workings of the alleged scheme.

As the jurors now prepare to deliberate on the 34 felony charges against Trump, the legal proceedings mark a historic moment as the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president, setting a precedent for accountability at the highest levels of government.