Donald Trump arrived on Tuesday to listen to the closing arguments in his New York hush money trial. The jury will soon decide whether to convict the former president and current White House hopeful, rewarding Democrats for their lawfare and throwing the presidential campaign into chaos.
The charges, brought by leftwing DA Alvin Bragg and adjudicated by liberal judge Juan Merchan, whose daughter runs a Democratic campaign outfit, have been heavily criticized from all sides of the political spectrum.
The judge has refused to let an expert witness explain that Trump did not commit a crime and the lead prosecutor in the case against Trump used to be on the Democratic party’s payroll.
AFP writes that the first criminal trial for an American president in history will soon come to a close.
The defense team will start off, seeking to persuade the jury that the Republican committed no crime when he paid to bury a news story on the eve of his shock 2016 election win about an alleged sexual encounter with adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Prosecutors will get the last word. They will lay out the case that Trump falsified business records to keep the hush money payment secret amid fear that the episode could sink his already rocky outsider’s bid to defeat Hillary Clinton.
The 12 jurors — whose identities have been kept secret for their protection — will then start deliberations as early as Wednesday, with a guilty verdict potentially triggering a prison sentence.
Coming less than six months before the November presidential election, in which polls show Trump neck and neck against President Joe Biden, the verdict will mark a new moment of extreme tension in an already unprecedented contest.
For Trump to be found guilty, all 12 jurors must agree, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the former president committed a crime.
The BBC explained that Trump will almost certainly appeal if he is found guilty. “His lawyers already have argued for a mistrial on multiple occasions, each time unsuccessfully.
If found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of four years behind bars, or a smaller punishment of probation and a fine. Most experts say the 77-year-old is unlikely to face any time in prison.
‘It is a non-violent offence. It’s the lowest of the [felony] offences,’ said former Brooklyn prosecutor Julie Rendelman. ‘With no record, his age, you name it, it would be highly unlikely.'”
If Trump were sentenced to prison time, it would present a logistical challenge for court officers and Secret Service staff, who would be responsible for protecting him while he is incarcerated. Democrats have already begun working to strip the former president and current polling leader for the White House of his protection.
