Trump lawyer reiterates to jury that his client is innocent
Trump attorney Todd Blanche told the jury that they, as a group of citizens, decide the facts and decide whether Trump is guilty or not guilty. He said he wanted to repeat what he told them five weeks ago.
“President Trump is innocent,” Blanche said. “He did not commit any crimes, and the District Attorney has not met their burden of proof. Period.”
Blanche starts his closing arguments
Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche began giving his closing arguments at about 9:40 a.m. ET. He said that he expects he’ll need 2½ hours to deliver the end of the defense’s case.
He briefly put up a PowerPoint presentation and then took it down.
Merchan to jurors: You are the judges of the facts
Merchan is giving jurors an overview of what they’re going to hear today from lawyers on both sides of the case. He explained that the summations “provide each lawyer the opportunity to review the evidence and give you the conclusions that can be drawn.”
“You are the finders of fact, and it is for you and for you alone to determine the facts from the evidence,” the judge told the jury.
He reminded the jury that the “lawyers are not witnesses,” adding that nothing they say in their summations constitutes “evidence.”
“You and you alone are the judges of the facts in this case,” Merchan said.
Judge tells prosecution and defense: Don’t go into the law
Before the jury entered, Judge Merchan told both the prosecution and defense teams that they shouldn’t explain the law to the jurors during summation.
“Please do not go into the law. Stay away from the law,” he said. “That’ll be my job. I’ll take care of it.”
District attorney staff members are watching from the overflow room
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As proceedings begin today, more than eight secondary members of the prosecution team have come into the overflow room to watch the trial.
The members present appear to be senior leadership from the district attorney’s office, including First Assistant District Attorney Meg Reiss and former Executive Assistant District Attorney Peter Pope, who led the investigation of this case leading to the grand jury’s indictment.
The staff members are seated in the jury box in the overflow room — an area we have not seen used before for seating.
How long will summations last?
Todd Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, estimates he’ll need around 2½ hours to deliver his closing argument. He goes first.
Joshua Steinglass, one of the prosecutors, says he’ll need “somewhere in the vicinity of 4 to 4½ hours.”
Trump says ‘this is a dark day in America’ before heading into courtroom for closing arguments
Shortly before heading into the courtroom for closing arguments, Trump repeated his claims that he was forced to attend courtroom proceedings in the hush money trial because of President Joe Biden, without providing evidence.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee griped that the trial is “election hunting, election interfering” because it is an effort to go after Biden’s political opponent.
Trump again accused Judge Merchan of being “highly conflicted” and “corrupt” and read aloud quotes from legal analysts who support his assertions that the former president did not commit wrongdoing in the case.
Trump also complained about Merchan’s gag order that bars him from making disparaging comments against his family members and others involved in the case, saying that it’s an “unconstitutional thing” to impose on a presidential candidate.
“This is not a trial that should happen. It’s a very sad day. This is a dark day in America,” he said. “We have a rigged court case that should have never been brought, and it should have been brought in another jurisdiction.”
Jury instructions set in stone
Judge Merchan says that he provided the jury instructions to the defense and prosecution on Thursday afternoon and that neither side has commented on them. They are now final.
Merchan is on the stand and they’re ready on go
The judge has taken his seat and proceedings are about to get underway.
The prosecution and defense in Trump’s criminal hush money trial will begin making their closing arguments to the jury today as the first criminal trial of a former president enters its final phase. NBC’s Laura Jarrett reports and Hallie Jackson provides analysis for “TODAY.”
‘Phony’ checks and hush money payments: Breaking down Trump’s 34 charges in his New York criminal trial
Biden campaign preps for a Trump trial verdict: From the Politics Desk
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President Joe Biden has largely steered clear of Trump’s legal woes. But with a verdict in the hush money trial coming as soon as this week, Biden’s campaign is exploring a shift to a new, more aggressive posture, according to two people familiar with the strategy.
Regardless of the outcome, top Biden campaign officials plan to stress to voters that Trump will be on the ballot in the fall and that no potential court proceeding will change that fact.
A person familiar with the discussions summed it up this way: “Donald Trump’s legal troubles are not going to keep him out of the White House. Only one thing will do that: voting this November for Joe Biden.”
Trump has departed for the courthouse
The former president has left Trump Tower for the courthouse downtown.
Rudy Giuliani’s son argues with anti-Israel protester outside court
Former New York gubernatorial candidate Andrew Giuliani started a heated argument with a protester who was shouting antisemitic tropes outside the courthouse this morning.
Giuliani, a former Trump White House official and the son of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, followed the demonstrator who was wearing a ski mask around a protest zone and yelled at the man about the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
The protester carried a sign with numbers representing Gazans who have been killed in the ensuing conflict and voiced canards about Jews controlling the U.S. government and the entertainment industry.
Trump’s guests in court today
Several of Trump’s children will be in court for closing arguments, including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump, who is the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, as well as Tiffany Trump, the former president’s only daughter with his ex-wife Marla Maples, and her husband, Michael Boulos.
Also in attendance will be Trump’s longtime friend Steve Witkoff, a real-estate investor who testified as a defense expert in Trump’s Manhattan civil fraud trial, Will Scharf, a lawyer for Trump who is running for attorney general in Missouri against Republican incumbent Andrew Bailey, and Deroy Murdock, a contributing editor for National Review Online.
Trump lawyer says she has ‘zero confidence’ Judge Merchan will issue jury instructions ‘in an appropriate manner’
Trump legal spokesperson Alina Habba on Sunday expressed concerns about jury instructions in the hush money trial against the former president and the jurors not being sequestered over the holiday weekend.
“Generally, as an attorney, as an American who understands the law and how to apply to laws to facts, there are no facts that support this alleged crime,” Habba said during an interview on Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures.” “We’re not even sure what the crime is. So it’s a books and records issue.”
Habba echoed Trump’s claims that Merchan is “severely conflicted” without evidence, noting the judge’s gag order that bars Trump from issuing disparaging comments on his family members and others involved in the case. Trump has repeatedly accused Merchan of being “conflicted,” often citing his daughter’s work at a digital fundraising and advertising firm that often collaborates with Democratic politicians.
“This judge is the judge that determines the jury instructions. The jury instructions are the road map for non-attorneys and jurors to follow the law,” she said. “It’s going to be critical, and frankly, at this point, I have zero confidence in the fact that this person, who should not be sitting on the bench right now, will do the right thing and give jury instructions that are in an appropriate manner without any persuasion towards the prosecution.”
Habba then raised concerns about jurors not being sequestered over the holiday weekend, arguing that they could be swayed by family and friends who have certain opinions.
“They should have been sequestered because, in my opinion, these jurors are handling something that is completely unprecedented and unwarranted in America, and for them to be able to be out and about on a holiday weekend with friends and families who have opinions, who are watching the news TVs on the background at the pool party — I have serious concerns,” she said.
Trump blasts Merchan and District Attorney Alvin Bragg in Truth Social posts over the weekend
In a series of social media posts over the holiday weekend, Trump attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the charges in this case against him, attacked Judge Juan Merchan and said the case was about a “legal expense” and a “bookkeeping error.”
“I have a great case, but with a rigged and conflicted judge,” Trump said in one post, before adding in another one, “The City of New York’s D.A., Alvin Bragg, is trying to prosecute a Federal case, which cannot be done, and where there is NO CRIME.”
One post blasted the case for blowing a “legal expense” out of proportion, saying, “Let’s put the President in jail for 150 years because a LEGAL EXPENSE to a lawyer was called, by a bookkeeper.”
Another post yesterday accused Merchan, without evidence, of being a “corrupt and conflicted” judge and claimed that Bragg is backed by liberal billionaire megadonor George Soros, who has been a target of antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Trump’s lawyers are preparing for the final stretch of the former president’s hush money trial in New York. NBC News’ Gabe Gutierrez reports on Trump’s busy weekend ahead of closing arguments in court.
Closing arguments set to begin in Trump’s criminal trial
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Closing arguments will begin today in the People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, as the first criminal trial of a former president enters its final phase.
After the prosecution and the defense deliver their concluding arguments, the judge will give instructions to the jury. Then, the 12 ordinary New Yorkers who sit on the jury will begin deliberations on whether or not the former president is guilty of the charges against him.
After 20 days in a courtroom, here’s what you missed in the Trump hush money trial
Ahead of this week’s closing arguments, catch up on what you missed over the last few weeks of the first criminal trial of a former president.
In sometimes explosive testimony, former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen said that he did call Trump a “Cheeto-dusted” villain but admitted to past lies and theft upon questioning by Trump’s attorneys.
Despite promising to testify, Trump did not ultimately take the stand and pushed back on media reports that he fell asleep multiple times during the trial. On his Truth Social account, the former president claimed he was simply resting his “beautiful blue eyes” while listening “intensely” to the proceedings.
