{"id":2254451,"date":"2024-05-28T16:55:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T20:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-trial-prosecutors-compare-cohen-to-tour-guide-for-hush-money-crimes\/"},"modified":"2024-05-28T16:58:46","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T20:58:46","slug":"trump-trial-prosecutors-compare-cohen-to-tour-guide-for-hush-money-crimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-trial-prosecutors-compare-cohen-to-tour-guide-for-hush-money-crimes\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump trial: Prosecutors liken Cohen to a &#8216;tour guide&#8217; for hush money crimes"},"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\">26<\/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%2Ftrump-trial-prosecutors-compare-cohen-to-tour-guide-for-hush-money-crimes%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=2254451&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>Manhattan prosecutors started closing arguments in the hush\u2064 money\u200d case against \u2063Donald Trump, likening Michael Cohen to a &#8220;tour\u2063 guide&#8221; \u200dfor the \u206234-count indictment. Prosecutor Joshua \u200dSteinglass\u2063 recognized the defense\u2019s\u200c focus on Cohen&#8217;s credibility issues. The case targets Trump\u200b for false business\u200d entries to cover up election interference. Cohen&#8217;s testimony aims\u2062 to clarify alleged \u200cfalsified records. \u200bTrump denies the charges related to \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-rejects-trump-bid-to-shield-financial-records\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid To Shield Financial Records\">hush money payments<\/a> to Stormy Daniels.  <\/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><strong>NEW YORK \u2014<\/strong> Manhattan prosecutors began their closing arguments Tuesday afternoon in the hush money case against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>, comparing the former president\u2019s ex-lawyer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michael-cohen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Michael Cohen<\/a> to a \u201ctour guide\u201d for the 34-count indictment.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2972781\/trump-trial-prosecutors-withhold-witness-lineup-trump-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joshua Steinglass<\/a> acknowledged that the defense used Cohen\u2019s history of credibility issues as a theme for their own closing arguments, accusing Trump of wanting to make Michael Cohen the focus of the case during his attorney Todd Blanche\u2019s closing arguments earlier in the day.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court in New York, Monday, May 20, 2024. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThis case is not about Michael Cohen. It\u2019s about Mr. Trump and whether he should be held accountable for making false business entries in his own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-hunter-biden-still-owns-stake-in-chinese-equity-firm\/\" title=\"Report: Hunter Biden still owns stake in Chinese equity firm\">business records<\/a>. Whether he and his staff did that to cover up election interference,\u201d Steinglass said, adding that Cohen\u2019s role as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-audio-think-tanks-star-lawsuit-witness-admits-to-tommy-robinson-that-they-bribed-him-for-testimony-against-us-congressional-staffer\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE AUDIO: Think Tank\u2019s Star Lawsuit Witness Admits to Tommy Robinson That They Bribed Him For Testimony Against US Congressional Staffer\">star witness<\/a> was to provide \u201ccontext and color\u201d to the alleged falsified records at issue in the case.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s like a tour guide through the physical evidence, but those documents don\u2019t lie and they don\u2019t forget,\u201d Steinglass added.<\/p>\n<p>Trump was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg\u2019s office last year on charges stemming from reimbursements made to Cohen for a hush money payment he made before the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied the affair Daniels claimed to have had with him years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Each specific criminal count Trump faces is related to a specific entry among the business records of the Trump Organization from February to December 2017, according to the indictment.<\/p>\n<p>Steinglass later sought to help the jury make sense of two other key hush money payments featured in the trial, including a payment to the former Trump Tower doorman who threatened to come forward with the false story that Trump had a child out of wedlock.<\/p>\n<p>The prosecutor recalled former <em>National Enquirer<\/em> publisher David Pecker agreeing to pay more than average for the story and pointed out that Pecker said it would have been an even bigger deal if the doorman\u2019s story was true.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were willing to wait because that would help the defendant\u2019s campaign. And that was the only reason,\u201d Steinglass said, adding, \u201cThat is catch and kill\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Steinglass moved toward Trump\u2019s supposed \u201ccavalier willingness\u201d during a September 2016 recorded conversation between him and Cohen to purchase the rights to former Playboy model Karen McDougal\u2019s story about an alleged affair with Trump for $150,000.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou should take this recording to the back,\u201d Steinglass said, referring to when the jury is told to begin deliberations on a verdict. \u201cYou can play this many times and as loudly as you want to hear Mr. Trump say 150 on this tape. It\u2019s your decision what the tape says.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Steinglass said before an afternoon break that he was about \u201ca third of the way\u201d through his closing arguments.<\/p>\n<p>Presiding Judge Juan Merchan told the jury that there will be another break at around 5:30 p.m., indicating that the jury will be staying later today to finish out the closing arguments before they are told to begin deliberating on a decision.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manhattan prosecutors delivered closing arguments in the hush money case against Donald Trump. They likened Michael Cohen, Trump&#8217;s ex-lawyer, to a &#8220;tour guide&#8221; for the 34-count indictment. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass addressed Cohen&#8217;s credibility issues, emphasized by the defense in their closing arguments<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2254452,"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\/AP24149533681019.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2254451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24149533681019.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254451","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\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2254451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2254452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2254451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2254451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2254451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}