Landmark Trump Trial: Upcoming Closing Arguments

In the saga of People v. Donald Trump, it will soon reach it’s end as next Tuesday is the closing arguments.

Looks like we’re on the brink of victory.

And since this is the first criminal trial against a former U.S. president, this may very well pave the way for other ex-presidents to experience the same.

This hush money trial isn’t going the way the Democrats wanted against President Trump.

They thought this was going to be what put him away and stop his rightful return to the White House.

Closing arguments are expected on May 28 in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York. Here is a look at what comes next: https://t.co/6LikXqrtIx pic.twitter.com/ifsoP8iTGV

— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) May 24, 2024

MSNBC reports:

Both the prosecution and the defense rested this week in People v. Donald Trump. Closing arguments are set for Tuesday in the first criminal trial against a former U.S. president. It’s anyone’s guess how this historic case ends, so both sides (and the jury) likely feel the weight of the moment heading into Memorial Day weekend.

The week started with Michael Cohen on the stand, finishing his cross-examination. Overall, Trump defense lawyer Todd Blanche landed some punches on his client’s former fixer, but nothing seemed to shake the foundation of the state’s case. Manhattan prosecutors rested after Cohen’s testimony, raising the question of whether the defense would call any witnesses, including Trump himself.

Trump didn’t testify, which was a smart move, given the defendant’s tenuous relationship with the truth. But the defense called a different bad witness: Robert Costello. The Trump-aligned lawyer seemingly took the stand to trash Cohen’s credibility. Yet, his boorish behavior almost landed him in contempt with Judge Juan Merchan, and the substance of his testimony didn’t fare much better. It might have even helped the prosecution.

The defense rested, and Merchan set closing arguments for Tuesday. In the meantime, the parties argued over important jury instructions that will factor into how they present their summations. Once the jury starts deliberating, we could get a verdict anytime — perhaps by next Friday’s newsletter.

In Trump’s other prosecutions, Judge Aileen Cannon held a hearing in the classified documents case. More than anything, the Florida court outing highlighted how Cannon is slow-walking the case, which is increasingly unlikely to be tried before the election. To understand why that’s so, see this recent New York Times op-ed from an ex-CIA lawyer who breaks down how badly Cannon has mangled this serious prosecution.

The Georgia 2020 election interference case is also unlikely to see a pre-election trial. That one’s tied up on pretrial appeal for the foreseeable future. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her former special prosecutor (and former romantic partner) Nathan Wade made prime-time appearances on MSNBC this week, with Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid. Both Willis and the judge who effectively disqualified Wade in the ruling that’s on appeal, Scott McAfee, easily won their elections Tuesday.

Will they try to pull another stunt during closing arguments?

Remember what happened last time?

“NY JUDGE WON’T LET TRUMP DELIVER CLOSING ARGUMENT” pic.twitter.com/1mV15T9SuX

— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 11, 2024