{"id":2253911,"date":"2024-05-27T17:42:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T21:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/three-things-to-expect-in-final-stretch-of-trump-hush-money-trial\/"},"modified":"2024-05-27T17:44:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T21:44:23","slug":"three-things-to-expect-in-final-stretch-of-trump-hush-money-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/three-things-to-expect-in-final-stretch-of-trump-hush-money-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Final expectations in Trump&#8217;s hush money trial rundown"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthree-things-to-expect-in-final-stretch-of-trump-hush-money-trial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2253911&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trumps-criminal-hush-money-trial-set-for-march-25\/\" title=\"Trump's hush money trial scheduled for March 25\">criminal hush money trial<\/a> of former \u2062President Donald Trump may conclude this week. Both prosecution and defense \u200dteams are\u2064 set to present \u200dtheir closing arguments, summarizing \u200ctheir cases for \u200cthe jury who\u2064 will\u200d then receive instructions for deciding a verdict. The defense&#8217;s \u200bgoal \u200cwill be to find weaknesses in\u200d the prosecution&#8217;s case, including Stormy Daniels&#8217;s testimony and the \u2063details regarding \u2062payments made to Trump&#8217;s former \u2063lawyer, Michael Cohen. A verdict, whether acquittal or guilty,\u2064 could be as \u200cearly as this week.\u2062 Over the course of\u2063 19 \u2062days, the prosecution\u2062 called 20 witnesses resulting in over 50 hours of testimony.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/criminal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>criminal<\/a> hush money trial could be over as soon as this week. <\/p>\n<p>Closing arguments from both the prosecution and defense are set to begin Tuesday, with both sides getting the opportunity to walk the jury through the alleged crime. The jury will then hear jury instructions, which will provide them with the framework to use to decide a verdict. <\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/politics\/story\/2024-05-27\/closing-arguments-jury-instructions-and-maybe-a-verdict-major-week-looms-in-trump-hush-money-trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>verdict<\/a> in which Trump is acquitted or found guilty could also come as early as this week. Here are three things to look for as this historic trial wraps up. <\/p>\n<h2>Closing arguments<\/h2>\n<div>\n<p>The prosecution and the defense will have the chance to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3009774\/closing-arguments-trump-new-york-trial-may-28\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> address the jury<\/a> with their closing arguments. Both statements are expected to be long and will likely last the entire day as lawyers give hourslong summaries of the evidence and witness testimony.<\/p>\n<p>The defense only needs to convince at least one juror that the prosecution has not proved Trump\u2019s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, not prove Trump\u2019s innocence, to prevent a guilty verdict. <\/p>\n<p>As such, in their closing arguments, the defense will likely try to find holes in the prosecution\u2019s case by countering porn star Stormy Daniels\u2019s testimony about her time with Trump. They will also likely try to distance the former president from knowing the exact details of the payments made to his former attorney Michael Cohen, who paid the $130,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-isis-bride-claims-media-covered-up-affair-with-rep-van-taylor\/\" title=\"Exclusive: \u2018ISIS Bride\u2019 Claims Media Covered Up Affair With Rep Van Taylor\">000 hush money payment<\/a> to Daniels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Over 19 days in court, the prosecution <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/05\/26\/politics\/donald-trump-trial-closing-arguments\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>called<\/a> 20 witnesses, resulting in testimony totaling over 50 hours. In closing, arguments will likely emphasize to the jury that they can trust the financial paperwork they have seen as evidence firsthand. <\/p>\n<p>They will also likely lean into Daniels\u2019s testimony, as well as Cohen\u2019s, in which he said Trump was directly involved in the hush money scheme.<\/p>\n<h2>Jury instructions<\/h2>\n<p>Following closing arguments, Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case, will address the jury for about an hour to instruct them on what it can consider when deciding a verdict on the case.<\/p>\n<p>The core of the case is the $130,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/some-politicians-notable-figures-weigh-in-on-trumps-claim-that-he-will-be-arrested-on-tuesday\/\" title=\"Some Politicians, Notable Figures Weigh In On Trump\u2019s Claim That He Will Be Arrested On Tuesday\">000 hush money payment made<\/a> to Daniels in 2016 to keep her quiet about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump. The prosecution claims Trump falsified business records related to the payment, which they describe as election interference due to the payment happening mere weeks before the 2016 election.<\/p>\n<p>The defense asked Merchan to consider the \u201cextraordinarily important\u201d nature of the case \u2014 it is the first criminal trial of a former president \u2014 when giving the jury instructions.\u00a0The prosecution objected, and Merchan agreed it would not be in line with standard jury instructions. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you say it\u2019s a very important case, you\u2019re asking me to change the law, and I\u2019m not going to do that,\u201d Merchan said.<\/p>\n<h2>Deliberations<\/h2>\n<p>A verdict could be reached as soon as Friday. Following closing arguments and jury instructions, the jurors will enter a period of deliberation in which they will evaluate all 34 counts against Trump.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Deliberations could take hours or days, which means the trial could potentially end as soon as Friday, but there is no time limit, and deliberations could take weeks. <\/p>\n<p>All 12 jurors must agree on a guilty or not guilty verdict in order for Merchan to accept the verdict. A mistrial or hung jury could be the result if a verdict cannot be unanimously reached, as Merchan would declare the jury \u201chopelessly deadlocked.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The criminal trial regarding ex-President Donald Trump&#8217;s alleged hush money may conclude this week. Closing statements from both defense and prosecution will commence on Tuesday, recounting the purported crime to the jury. Following this, the jury will receive instructions to guide their verdict<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2253912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24142774879137.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2253911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24142774879137.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2253911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2253911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2253911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2253912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2253911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2253911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2253911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}