Former President Donald Trump is making a last-ditch plea for the criminal charges against him to be thrown out as his fate in a New York trial nears jury deliberations.
Trump defended his actions on social media, stating that payments to his lawyer, Michael Cohen, were legitimate and not part of a criminal scheme. Prosecutors allege Trump used Cohen to pay $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels near the 2016 election, and that Trump took criminal steps to conceal the payments by falsifying invoices and issuing checks to Cohen that were logged as other expenses.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, which are felony counts because prosecutors allege records were falsified to conceal a secondary "object crime," in this case a scheme to violate election or tax laws. Trump's defense team said jurors should be required to make "very specific" findings, but prosecutors said the law doesn't require jurors to all agree on what "unlawful means" Trump deployed to cover up another offense.
State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan was reluctant to include more specific language in jury instructions, saying it would change the statute.
Trump defended his actions on social media, stating that payments to his lawyer, Michael Cohen, were legitimate and not part of a criminal scheme. Prosecutors allege Trump used Cohen to pay $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels near the 2016 election, and that Trump took criminal steps to conceal the payments by falsifying invoices and issuing checks to Cohen that were logged as other expenses.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, which are felony counts because prosecutors allege records were falsified to conceal a secondary "object crime," in this case a scheme to violate election or tax laws. Trump's defense team said jurors should be required to make "very specific" findings, but prosecutors said the law doesn't require jurors to all agree on what "unlawful means" Trump deployed to cover up another offense.
State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan was reluctant to include more specific language in jury instructions, saying it would change the statute.
