On Tuesday, jurors spent about eight hours with their closing arguments in Donald Trump’s criminal trial, with lawyers for both sides presenting their closing arguments before the jury began deliberating on whether Trump is guilty of 34 counts of tampering with business records.
Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, argued that Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s key witness, is the “greatest liar of all time” and acted alone when he paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 for her silence about an alleged sexual relationship with Trump. Blanche told jurors that they may simply not convict Trump based on Cohen’s testimony, and said there were many other reasons to doubt prosecutors’ account of the case.
Trump is accused of approving the plan to falsify records in order to conceal the “silent” payment. Prosecutors say the scheme was aimed at circumventing election law and keeping the payment secret. They claim Trump falsely submitted reimbursements for the $130,000 monthly payment in checks for Cohen’s ongoing legal services, paid in the first year of his presidency. Trump has pleaded not guilty, and his defense has argued that the checks and related records were accurate.
District Attorney Joshua Steinglass presented the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s closing remarks. He defended Cohen’s credibility and said his testimony matched a voluminous recording of text messages, emails and calls presented at trial. He suggested the jury hold Trump accountable.
“The object of the gambling cover-up, and all paths, inevitably lead to the guy who benefited the most, the defendant, a guy named Donald J. Trump,” Steinglass said.
The court will reconvene Wednesday at 10 a. m. , when Judge Juan Merchán will give very important orders to the jury explaining the various legal problems they will have to face in order to achieve a verdict. That proceeding is expected to last about an hour, after which Trump’s fate will be in the hands of the jury.
Here’s how Trump’s trial played out on Tuesday:
Trump’s criminal trial is now in its seventh week and, for the first time, one of his daughters is present. Tiffany Trump sits next to her husband Michael Boulos and two of his adult brothers, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as if she were Eric’s wife. , Lara Trump.
The courtroom gallery has included one or the other of the brothers, but rarely both.
He has not had five family members present at any of his recent trials, adding two federal civil trials in which he was found guilty of sexual abuse and defamation against E. Jean Carroll and his civil fraud lawsuit, in which he and his children were found guilty of millions of dollars in fraud.
After closing arguments, the jury will decide whether to include a first for a former president in U. S. history — a felony conviction — on this list.
Before Trump’s lawyers began their closing arguments, Judge Juan Merchan summoned the jury and explained how the day would unfold. He said the defense would come first, as required by New York law. Prosecutors will stick to their closing arguments.
Merchan said the lawyers’ recollections of testimony would likely differ from those of the jury. He reminded jurors that they are the “fact-seekers” when it comes to achieving a verdict.
“You and you alone are the ones judging the facts in this case,” Merchan said, adding that he will tell jurors how they deserve to apply the law.
Blanche, Trump’s lead defense attorney, makes the defense’s closing argument. He began by thanking jurors for their service and said the prosecutor’s workplace had failed to meet the burden of proof required to convict Trump.
Blanche said the case was about accounting and not Trump’s alleged encounter with Stormy Daniels. He said the industry’s records were accurate and that Trump had “absolutely” no goal to defraud.
“This case looks at documents, it’s a paper case. This case is not about a meeting with Stormy Daniels 18 years ago, a meeting that President Trump has unequivocally denied took place,” Blanche said.
He also argued that Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness, cannot be trusted and that jurors “want and expect more. “
“He took the oath. He swore to tell the facts and told them a number of things on the witness stand that were lies. Pure and simple,” Blanche said.
Blanche took aim at Cohen for his testimony about his status as Trump’s private lawyer and the bills he won in 2017.
He handed the jury a portion of the trial transcript in which Cohen said he never had a mandate agreement with Trump.
“It’s a lie, and you can’t just downplay a lie and say it’s wrong. A lie is a lie, and it’s a big lie,” Blanche said. He claimed that Trump and Cohen had a “verbal” commitment and that the $35,000 monthly checks paid Cohen for his legal services.
“For the first time in President Trump’s life, he has made the decision to reimburse me three times the amount. Doubling down on the $130, he gave me $50,000 for an online survey and made the decision that he wasn’t going to pay for over a year. Incidentally, “I stole a little bit on it,” Blanche said, paraphrasing Cohen’s testimony about the total amount of cash he earned in 2017.
“The story that Mr. Cohen told you on the witness stand is true,” Blanche said. “There’s an explanation for why in life, normally, the simplest answer is the right one. “
Blanche argued that “it makes more sense” for the $35,000 bills to go to Cohen’s services.
Trump’s lawyer also took aim at the prosecution’s explanation of why Cohen made $420,000 when he paid Daniels $130,000.
On the stand, Cohen said that figure represented the $130,000 payment, plus $50,000 Cohen owed to a tech company working for Trump. That cash was doubled to account for taxes, Cohen said. He said the remaining $60,000 would supplement his year-end bonus, which had been reduced.
Blanche said the concept that Trump would pay Cohen $420,000 when he only owed him $130,000 was “absurd. “He showed the jury handwritten notes from Weisselberg at a bank showing how the $420,000 had been reached.
“The document that other people have put together to prove it is full of lies,” Blanche said.
As Trump’s sons, Eric and Don Jr. , sat next to each other in the courtroom, Blanche showed an email from Allen Weisselberg to Jeff McConney, a former Trump Organization executive, regarding a check for Cohen: “It’s OK to pay as per the agreement. “with Don and Eric. ”
This is the first time his children have attended the trial together, and only the second time Don Jr. has given the impression of being in the courtroom. Tiffany and Lara Trump also sat next to them, the largest circle of family members who have so far shown their support for Trump in this trial.
“Guess who else you haven’t heard of this trial?Don and Eric,” Blanche said, wondering why payments to Cohen would require approval from Trump’s sons, who ran the Trump Organization when their father moved to Washington. Any accusations that they’re part of this plan, that they’re part of this conspiracy?Not even the slightest evidence proves it. It’s a moderate doubt. “
“The burden is still on the government,” he continued. They called Cohen. They didn’t call Don or Eric. “
Blanche showed two checks on the screen, signed through Eric and Don Jr. , and said Trump had nothing to do with either.
The two sons were in Blanche, in the foreground, with the jury in the background.
Trump’s lawyer turned to a 2015 meeting between Cohen, Trump and David Pecker, chief executive of the National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc. Pecker testified that he agreed to be Trump’s “eyes and ears” on the campaign trail, looking for negative outcomes. scandal.
Blanche noted that buying the rights to negative stories and refusing to publish them (“catch and kill”) was something the Enquirer had been doing “for decades,” referring to Pecker’s testimony that the outlet had done the same with stories about Tiger Woods. Mark Wahlberg, Arnold Schwartzenegger and others.
Blanche also said there was “no in-depth discussion” about the alleged plot at that 2015 town hall at Trump Tower, and that there was “no criminal conspiracy. ”
“Also, don’t forget that many of the items have just been recycled and have already been published through other organizations,” Blanche said, referring to articles published through the Enquirer about Trump’s rivals for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. “The concept of ‘That the National Enquirer can influence an election through corruption. . . He deserves to shake his head. “
The Biden campaign held a news conference outside the courthouse Tuesday morning as closing arguments unfolded.
Speakers included actor Robert De Niro and Harry Dunn, the former U. S. Capitol Police officer who testified before the House committee about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
De Niro Trump is a “loser” and said he would be a “tyrant” and a “dictator” if re-elected.
“It’s time to avoid it by getting rid of it once and for all. We don’t need to wake up after the election and say, ‘What again?My God, what have we done?’ he said.
The press marks an ambitious move for President Biden and his campaign, which have been reluctant to point to Trump’s criminal trial.
Biden, however, attacked Trump when the two men publicly challenged each other at the presidential debates two weeks ago. “I heard you were on the loose on Wednesday,” Biden said, alluding to the day of the week when the trial regularly takes place. A break.
Blanche said Cohen himself paid $130,000 to Daniels, unbeknownst to Trump, because he was seeking credit for protecting his boss.
“He made the decision to pay this $130,000 to Mrs. Daniels. I tried because I knew I could get credits from President Trump later,” Blanche said. If he loses the election, he’ll get those credits. “
Blanche reiterated that the jury cannot accept Cohen’s account of his conversations with Trump as true.
The comments came shortly after Trump’s lawyer also said that two examples of items purchased from the National Enquirer were not “catch and kill” cases.
The first example is false allegations that Trump fathered a child with a cleaning girl at Trump Tower. Pecker testified that the Enquirer refused to publish the story because it was false. At the time the story of Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who also said she had sex with Trump, was revealed. McDougal agreed to give the rights to his story for $150,000 to AMI, and the deal included a commitment that McDougal would appear on magazine covers and write columns.
“What’s clear from what you heard about Mrs. MacDougal is that it wasn’t cheating either,” Blanche said. “She didn’t need her story to be published. I wanted to make a career. I wasn’t interested in promoting her story. “
Trump’s lawyer has alluded to the fact that Daniels’ accusation of having a sexual relationship with Trump dates back 18 years.
Blanche noted that the story was briefly published and then removed from a gossip site in 2011. She said Daniels and her team only began strenuous efforts to sell their story because they perceived Trump to be in a vulnerable position as the 2016 election approached. .
“There was an organization of other people who were looking to take advantage of the election and ultimately extort money from President Trump,” Blanche said.
As Blanche made this argument from a few feet away, Trump turned his chair to the right, leaning back and clasping his hands to look. Trump nodded and smiled when Blanche called the negotiation with Daniels “extortion. “
Blanche presented the jury with her account of the weeks leading up to the 2016 election, when Cohen and Daniels’ lawyer was negotiating the $130,000 payment. He said the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape on Oct. 7, 2016, prompted Daniels to check out to sell her story. In the 2005 recording, Trump can be heard saying that he can just “grab [women] through” and “force them to do anything. “
The recording was a major flashpoint in the presidential campaign, however, Blanche said Trump did not respond in the way prosecutors had announced, seeking to bolster their argument that Cohen acted without Trump’s knowledge.
“The ‘Access Hollywood’ tape was presented in this trial to be anything it is not. This is one of many stressful issues that arose during the 2016 campaign. It wasn’t an apocalyptic event,” White said, noting that Trump spoke about it in a video message and at the upcoming presidential debate. “He never imagined that would cause him to lose a campaign, and in fact that’s not the case. “
Cohen, however, “had another point of view,” according to Blanche: “Michael Cohen told her that he found out it was catastrophic and that he was looking to do something, and that’s what he did with respect to Mrs. Daniels. “
Trump’s lawyer went on to insist that Cohen’s testimony is unreliable and that the jury rejects it. He pointed to comments Cohen made on the stand about his interactions with attorney Robert Costello and a phone call in 2016, when Cohen said he informed Trump about Daniels’ payment. Blanche disputed Cohen’s account of the occasions in both cases, saying he was “caught red-handed” over the phone call.
“I don’t know how many lies are enough to reject Mr. Cohen,” Blanche said.
“Is there the same absolute evidence of lies in everything and everything a guy has ever told you?No, there isn’t,” he acknowledged. For this, we have what is called an oath. We have an oath that each and every witness takes when they testify before you, the jury. And the oath counts. The oath counts as a maximum. He lied. “
Blanche said Cohen was “literally the MVP of liars,” pointing to his conviction of mendacity before Congress and his admission of mendacity under oath in a separate case.
Blanche ended her argument by summarizing the reasons why jurors might simply doubt the prosecutors’ account of the case and therefore declare Trump innocent:
The last point was Blanche’s key point in her closing argument, and she took the opportunity to emphasize it.
“Michael Cohen is the GLOAT, he’s literally the biggest liar of all time. He lied to any of the branches of Congress, both chambers, the House and the Senate,” Blanche said. “He lied to federal authorities and state judges, to his family, to the bankers, to the other people he works with. Their words cannot be trusted, and I will end this summary in the same way that I told you a few minutes ago, that you know others. We can’t count on him. “
Blanche ended by reminding jurors that the case “is a referendum on their views” on Trump.
“This is not a referendum at the ballot box to find out who you voted for in 2016 or 2020, who you plan to vote for in 2024. That’s not what it’s about. The verdict he will give is based on the evidence that “I heard here in this courtroom and nothing else,” he said. “If you do that, if you just focus on the evidence that you’ve heard in this courtroom, you’re going to get a very, very quick and simple solution to not blame. verdict. “
Toward the end of her closing statement, Blanche said, “You can’t sentence someone to jail, you can’t sentence someone based on the words of Michael Cohen. “Prosecutors objected, and the objection was upheld.
Once the jury apologized to take a lunch break, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Merchan, the judge, to instruct the jury regarding the sentencing, calling the comment a “blatant and utterly misplaced effort to gain sympathy” for Trump.
Merchan agreed, calling the comment “outrageous” and “highly inappropriate. “He indicated that he would give corrective instructions to the jury.
When the court returned from lunch, Merchan asked the jury about Blanche’s comment.
“In this case, a criminal sentence is required, in case of a guilty verdict,” Merchan said.
Joshua Steinglass of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office filed the indictment. He told jurors that prosecutors will have to uncover three “fundamental things”: that business records were falsified, that the scheme was aimed at covering up a conspiracy to influence the election. , and that Trump knew it.
He suggested the jury “focus on the facts” and draw logical conclusions from the emails, texts and other documents presented at trial.
Stating that they had “no explanation for why they were lying here” and that they still considered Trump “a friend and a mentor,” Steinglass said the testimony of Trump’s friends and former workers was “absolutely damning. “
He said Pecker’s testimony showed a conspiracy to illegally influence the 2016 election.
“You don’t want Michael Cohen to reveal it,” Steinglass said, adding a while later that Pecker “also gets rid of the whole concept that it’s politics as usual. “
Steinglass went on to say that other Trump admirers had come up with “critical pieces of the puzzle that identify the guilt of the accused. “
Steinglass cited testimony from former White House aide Hope Hicks and Deborah Tarasoff, accounts payable manager for the Trump Organization.
Steinglass spent much of the first 30 minutes of his summary focusing on the defense’s attacks on Cohen’s credibility. He claimed Cohen was in trouble as a witness, but argued that it was a reflection of Trump, not the prosecution.
“We didn’t select Michael Cohen. No we selected him in the witness shop. The defendant chose Mr. Cohen to fix it,” Steinglass said.
In the years since Cohen lost Trump’s pardon, he’s “understandably angry because he’s the only one who paid the price” for his role in the Daniels deal, Steinglass said.
“Cohen wants the defendant to be convicted. We agree with him,” Steinglass said.
Steinglass noted that Cohen missed out on business opportunities after his conviction and said this is one of the reasons Cohen started making money criticizing Trump.
“I’m not asking you to forgive Michael Cohen, he made his bed. But you can’t blame him for making money off of the only thing he can, which is knowledge,” Steinglass said.
A major turning point in the defense’s case was when it attacked Cohen’s testimony that he had spoken to Trump through a phone call to Trump’s bodyguard, Keith Schiller, on Oct. 24, 2016.
The defense showed that Cohen likely discussed the deceptions he won with Schiller and argued that he lied when he said he informed Trump about Daniels’ payment in the same phone call.
“To them, it’s a ‘big lie,'” Steinglass said, a conceivable reference to a word used to describe Trump’s false insistence on winning the 2020 election. “But that’s not the only interpretation. “
Steinglass then faked a hypothetical call, appearing that Cohen could have told Schiller about the prankster, asked to speak to Trump and briefed him on the deal with Daniels in less than 50 seconds.
Daniels’ testimony, in which she describes having sex with Trump, is “uncomfortable,” Steinglass said, and that’s the point.
“This is the demonstration that the defendant did not need the American electorate to see. Stormy Daniels is the reason,” Steinglass said. He wouldn’t pay the $130,000, double tax, if he had just taken a picture playing golf. course. “
Trump said he did not have sex with Daniels and claimed they simply met and chatted at a celebrity golf tournament in 2006.
“The defense has gone to great lengths to discredit Stormy Daniels. They embarrassed him. They tried to say that their story had replaced over the years, which they didn’t,” Steinglass said.
He pointed to Daniels’ ability to recount the main minute points of the encounter, such as the contents of Trump’s hygiene bag, as proof that his account was legitimate.
“These are the kinds of main points that I present to you that ring true,” Steinglass said.
Steinglass recalled a 2015 Trump Tower meeting between Trump, Pecker and Cohen, in which the trio allegedly hatched a plan to “catch and kill” Trump.
This agreement “has proven to be one of the most valuable contributions ever made to the campaign,” Steinglass said.
The defense has continually argued that the applicants attempt to “influence” the election, simply through campaigning. Steinglass characterized his argument as, “It’s called democracy. “
“Actually, this assembly at Trump Tower is precisely the opposite. It’s a subversion of democracy,” Steinglass said. The sole purpose of this assembly is to deny the American public access to the truth. To defraud the electorate in a coordinated manner. “
“Maybe that’s what got Trump elected,” Steinglass added, calling it “blatant voter fraud. “
“This is an illegal contribution through AMI to the campaign, and it was made in collusion with the campaign,” Steinglass said.
During the defense’s closing argument, Blanche said Pecker, the former chief executive of the National Enquirer’s parent company, gave the impression of being a truthful witness who “doesn’t lie. “
Steinglass examined this functionality in its closing. He turned to Pecker’s testimony about the alleged “catch and kill” plan, illustrating the importance of the evidence beyond what Cohen and Daniels said on the stand.
He recalled portions of the trial transcript in which Pecker had said incriminating things about Trump.
For example, he talked about the description of a phone call Pecker had with Trump in 2016. Pecker said his secretary interrupted a meeting with AMI’s more sensible investors to tell Trump on the phone.
Pecker said that on that call, “the defendant said he discovered Cohen’s [McDougal’s] tale,” according to Steinglass.
“This call demonstrates that not only was the defendant aware of it, but he actively participated in it,” Steinglass said.
Steinglass later noted that Pecker said Trump told him Cohen would handle negotiations similar to the McDougal case, saying Trump “replaced Mr. Cohen just before Mr. Pecker. “
Steinglass directed the jury through a long series of communications between many key players in the case that led to the Oct. 28, 2016, settlement between Daniels and Trump.
From Cohen to Pecker, from Pecker to Davidson, from Pecker to Cohen: many of them call each other.
And then two that were “weird,” according to Steinglass: phone calls between Cohen and Weisselberg.
Steinglass said its phone records showed six phone calls in the three years prior to the deal, adding two in the last 3 days.
And then, on Oct. 26, a call with Trump, just an hour before Cohen began preparing documents for a budget move to his newly formed limited liability company that would soon send cash to Daniels.
“I mean, it’s overwhelming,” Steinglass said.
Earlier in the day, Merchan said the jury would likely have to stay behind if closing arguments aren’t over until 4:30 p. m. , when the court adjourns for the day. He said he would ask jurors if they had a scheduling conflict.
Shortly before 5 p. m. , Merchan said jurors were alert and had arranged to stay until 7 or 8 p. m.
“I think we’re going to check it out to finish it tonight,” he said.
Steinglass pointed the jury to two key pieces of evidence: handwritten notes describing how Cohen would be paid after the Daniels deal.
In the first set of notes, Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s top monetary official, scribbled calculations on Cohen’s bank that included Daniels’ pay and explained how Cohen would be paid in the future.
Jeffrey McConney, a former longtime comptroller of the Trump Organization, said Weisselberg sent him his notes and also discussed the deal with him just before Trump’s inauguration.
McConney testified that Weisselberg threw a notebook at him and him to take notes.
“Allen said we had to bring Michael in and pay him back,” McConney said.
In a second series, McConney recorded Weisselberg’s calculations in a Trump-branded notebook, reflecting what Weisselberg had written on the statement: $420,000, paid in 12 monthly installments of $35,000.
“Stop for a moment to think about what this testimony means. [McConney] is a controller and worker of the company for 34 years. He has no interest to defend,” Steinglass said. “I knew it was a refund because that’s what I had. “I’ve been told. “
Steinglass then addressed a central theme of the defense, namely that Michael Cohen is the genuine witness to the alleged crimes.
“Mr. Blanche claimed that this all came from Michael, this document, those two documents, are documents from the Trump Organization. It comes from them,” Steinglass said.
“In other words, it’s irrefutable evidence,” Steinglass said.
Cohen said he worked about 10 hours of legal work for Trump in 2017, even though he goes by the name “the president’s private lawyer. “
Steinglass drew laughter when he compared Cohen’s paintings for Trump that year to his time on the dais this month.
“Cohen spent more time being questioned in this trial than defending Donald Trump in 2017,” Steinglass said.
He said the negligible number of paintings made for Trump is an indication that Cohen did not pay for the continuation of his legal representation that year, but instead reimbursed him, as the government claims.
“After everything Trump has said and done, do you think there’s a possibility, a possibility, that Trump will pay $42,000 an hour for Mr. Trump’s legal work, Cohen?” asked Steinglass.
Trump did not testify at that trial, so prosecutors pointed to the many occasions in Trump’s books when he extolled the virtues of frugality and micromanagement, trying to show that Trump knew why Cohen was getting $35,000 a month for a year.
“Mr. Trump’s cardinal sin is to pay too much for anything,” Steinglass said, shortly after a page of “Trump: Think Like a Billionaire” appeared where Trump and his ghostwriter wrote: “Call it pinch if you will; I call that monetary intelligence. “
In another book, Trump warned, “Don’t trust anyone” and “look for the other most productive people and don’t consider them sincere. “Steinglass pointed to another excerpt in which Trump wrote that he points out his problems “so you know. “where is my money going?”
“If you’re looking at your decorator’s bills, you can be sure you’re going through Michael Cohen’s bills,” Steinglass said.
Echoing a comment made by Bragg after Trump was indicted in that case on April 4, 2023, Steinglass told jurors that New York “is the business capital of the world” and “you have a legal responsibility to keep the right records. “
“In New York State, at the end of the day, you can’t lie in business records,” Steinglass said. “That’s the essence of this case: cheating. “
He then pledged to keep Cohen in check after the FBI raided his home and workplace in 2018.
“Like all repairmen, Cohen knew where the bodies were buried, and it is imperative to keep him faithful,” Steinglass said, before recounting evidence similar to his communications with attorney Robert Costello.
The wonderful defense witness had promised to serve as Cohen’s “go-between” in the White House, but Cohen said he believed Costello was part of a larger “pressure campaign” aimed at preventing him from “turning around. “
Steinglass, his voice hoarse as he came to the conclusion of what he called the “never-ending summary,” pulled out a slide titled “Mr. Trump has cared every single step of the way. ”
This led to a timeline appearing in which testimony or evidence showed that Trump was aware of the “catch and kill” and pay-per-view programs.
The timeline dates back to the August 2015 Trump Tower rally between Pecker, Cohen and Trump and was intended to show Trump’s “direct involvement” in at least 20 key moments.
“It’s just that he would care so much about buying the silence of those women and then bury his head in the sand when it comes to Cohen’s payoff,” Steinglass said.
Steinglass focused on a series of calls between key players on Oct. 8, 2016, discussing Daniels’ allegations, leading to a call between Cohen and Trump.
“There’s just no way, there’s no chance, that Cohen didn’t tell Trump on that call,” Steinglass said, his voice rising.
He pointed to an Oct. 26, 2016, phone call between Cohen and Trump, just before Cohen began the procedure to facilitate the wire transfer, saying Trump had agreed to go ahead.
“Everything required Mr. Trump’s approval. At best, I asked for my money back,” Cohen testified.
Steinglass noted that Pecker said Trump thanked him for his help in the crusade after the election. Later, Steinglass noted, Trump expressed anger at Pecker for allowing Karen McDougal to back out of her nondisclosure agreement.
He went on to point to the “irrefutable” notes similar to those of Trump’s right-hand man, Allen Weisselberg, and said Trump had personally signed checks on Cohen’s behalf.
“Busy or not, Mr. Trump wasn’t paying the costs of almost any work,” Steinglass said, referring to Cohen’s testimony that he did very little legal work for Trump in 2017.
“The false business documents benefited one user, and only one user, and that was the defendant,” Steinglass said.
More than five hours after presenting the prosecution’s closing argument, Steinglass began to conclude. He said that “there is no rational argument that Cohen’s payment to Daniels would have been made without the election. “
“The game’s call for a cover-up and all roads inevitably lead to the guy who benefited the most, the defendant, a guy named Donald J. Trump,” Steinglass said.
He thanked jurors for their patience in “a frustrating case that’s been going on for a while. “He said he apologized for “trading brevity for rigor, but we have a chance to do it. “
“He had his day in court. Donald Trump can’t shoot someone at rush hour on Fifth Avenue and get away with it,” Steinglass said, referring to Trump’s observation that he can’t do anything that might discourage his supporters. The defense team immediately voiced an objection, which Merchan supported.
“Pretty soon it’s time to plan and come back here and plead guilty, guilty to 34 counts,” Steinglass concluded. “I ask the defendants to blame. “