The Latest | Defense ends its summation in hush money case, implores jury to find Trump 'not guilty'

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

91% : TRUMP ARRIVES AT COURTHOUSEA small of supporters yelled "We love Trump" outside the courthouse in lower Manhattan Tuesday morning as Donald Trump's motorcade arrived.
68% : There were a lot of adjustments being made as Trump's assets were put under the trust's control and it was the first time in decades that Trump wasn't in charge, he added.
63% : TRUMP WAS EXTREMELY BUSY WHEN SIGNING CHECKS, BLANCHE SAYSDefense lawyer Todd Blanche stressed during his summation on Tuesday that Donald Trump was busy during the time when he signed the checks at the heart of the hush money case.
59% : "The government wants you to believe that President Trump did these things with his records to conceal efforts to promote his successful candidacy in 2016, the year before," Blanche said.
58% : Trump said, according to Cohen and prosecutors, as in $150,000."Listen to the recording.
54% : Seated behind Trump are members of his family, including his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. and his daughter Tiffany.
51% : "Nor is it about the confidential settlement and non-disclosure agreement that Daniels entered into eight years ago.
49% : "After playing parts of the recording, Blanche urged jurors to trust their ears when deciphering a specific part -- whether Trump mentioned a dollar figure that he might have to spend, as Cohen and prosecutors contend, or whether he said something else.
48% : Defense lawyer Todd Blanche pointed to emails and testimony Tuesday showing that Cohen did indeed work on some legal matters for Trump that year.
46% : Michael Cohen received $420,000 in all from Trump in 2017, a sum that the ex-lawyer and prosecutors in the former president's hush money case have said included the $130,000 reimbursement related to Stormy Daniels, a $50,000 repayment for an unrelated expense and a $60,000 bonus.
43% : "After months of saying politics had nothing to do with this trial, they showed up and made a campaign event out of a lower Manhattan trial day for President Trump," Miller said.Karoline Leavitt, the campaign press secretary, called the Biden campaign "desperate and failing" and "pathetic" and said their event outside the trial was "a full-blown concession that this trial is a witch hunt that comes from the top.
43% : De Niro said if Trump returns to the White House, Americans can "kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted.
43% : "That is absurd," Blanche told jurors, pointing to "all the other evidence you heard about how carefully President Trump watches his finances.
43% : Other family members have not yet joined him in court, including his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, and his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump.
43% : The arguments don't count as evidence in the case charging Donald Trump with falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments during the 2016 presidential election.
41% : At the heart of the charges are reimbursements paid to Michael Cohen for a $130,000 hush money payment that was given to porn actor Stormy Daniels in exchange for not going public with her claim about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.
41% : He implored the jury to return a quick "not guilty" verdict.BLANCHE CALLS COHEN 'AN MVP OF LIARS'As he neared the end of his summation on Tuesday, defense lawyer Todd Blanche reminded jurors of Michael Cohen's admitted fixation on Donald Trump -- and his desire to see him behind bars.
41% : She testified earlier in the hush money trial that she signed off on them at her lawyer's urging.DEFENSE DENIES RECORDED CONVERSATION WAS ABOUT PAYOFF OF FORMER MODELDefense lawyer Todd Blanche spotlighted a key piece of prosecution evidence during his summation: the secret recording Michael Cohen says he made of himself briefing Donald Trump on a plan to buy the rights to former Playboy model Karen McDougal's story from the National Enquirer.
41% : Blanche argued it was unreasonable to suggest Trump was aware of the details of every invoice just because he knew of some.
39% : "The National Enquirer paid $30,000 for a since-disproven rumor from a Trump Tower doorman and $150,000 to former Playboy model Karen McDougal for her claim of an affair with Trump, though publisher David Pecker testified the tabloid wasn't interested in pursuing her story at first because it couldn't be corroborated.
38% : Their task ahead will be to decide whether prosecutors who have charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records have proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
35% : A 'NOT GUILTY' VERDICTDefense lawyer Todd Blanche finished his summation Tuesday by telling jurors the hush money case "isn't a referendum on your views of President Trump.
35% : Reince Priebus, then-chair of the Republican National Committee, had told Trump after the tape was released that he had two choices: drop out of the race or lose by the largest margin in history, Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon has recounted.
35% : None of the invoices were sent directly to Trump, Blanche said.BLANCHE TAKES AIM AT COHEN'S TESTIMONY
35% : To convict Trump of felony falsifying business records, prosecutors must convince jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that he not only falsified or caused business records to be entered falsely but also did so with intent to commit or conceal another crime.
33% : Following a brief morning break, Blanche singled out that Daniels issued two statements in 2018 denying that she'd ever had a sexual encounter with Trump.
33% : Blanche said the September 2016 recording, which cuts off before the conversation finishes, is unreliable and was actually about a plan to buy a collection of material on Trump that the National Enquirer had been hoarding -- not McDougal.
33% : It's a very sad day," Trump said.
32% : Blanche argued that Davidson "was really just trying to extort money from President Trump" in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
31% : Blanche questioned why, if prosecutors allege Trump was involved in a conspiracy to conceal the nature of the payments, the sons he put in charge of his company weren't called to the witness stand.
29% : "Westerhout, who was then working for the Republican National Committee in close coordination with the Trump campaign, had testified that the tape "rattled the RNC leadership" but that Trump wasn't thrown by it.
29% : "It matters where President Trump was," Blanche said.
29% : DEFENSE BEGINS CLOSING ARGUMENTSDefense lawyer Todd Blanche began his closing argument Tuesday morning by telling jurors that Donald Trump "is innocent" of the charges against him.
28% : "The former president carried a sheet of paper and read quotes off of it from political and legal commentators who have attacked the hush money case, a feature Trump has made a regular part of his trial routine.
27% : Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
27% : This case is not about an encounter with Stormy Daniels 18 years ago, an encounter that President Trump has unequivocally and repeatedly denied ever occurred," Blanche said.
24% : "The case against Trump is built around testimony from "a witness that outright hates the defendant, wants him in jail, is actively making money off that hatred," Blanche said.
24% : Pecker said he refused to pay Daniels because he didn't want to shell out any more money for Trump without getting repaid, leaving Cohen to make the deal himself.
22% : While Cohen has testified that he lied to protect Trump, his family and others, Blanche asserted that the ex-lawyer "is lying simply to protect Michael Cohen and nobody else.
22% : Trump has denied having sex with Daniels.
21% : Trump has denied all wrongdoing.
19% : "Blanche conceded in his summation that Trump was bothered by the story.
19% : "DEFENSE SAYS TRUMP WATCHES HIS FINANCE CAREFULLYAfter arguing earlier Tuesday that Donald Trump may not have been fully aware of all his invoices, defense lawyer Todd Blanche stressed to jurors that the former president was a stickler about watching his finances.
17% : DEFENSE SHARPENS CRITIQUE OF 'CATCH AND KILLS'Trump lawyer Todd Blanche on Tuesday questioned the prosecution's narrative that the Stormy Daniels payment in October 2016 was part of a conspiracy amongst Trump, Michael Cohen and the National Enquirer to suppress negative stories about the then-candidate through the practice known as "catch and kill.
16% : "Blanche's voice grew to a roar -- the loudest he had been all morning -- as he also declared that Cohen had lied about speaking to Trump by phone about the Stormy Daniels arrangement on Oct. 24, 2016.
16% : It was one of three potentially damaging stories about Trump the tabloid did not run.
16% : Speaking while the former president was stuck in court, De Niro said Trump wants to "destroy not only the city but the country and eventually he could destroy the world."As he spoke, Trump protesters screamed anti-Biden chants.
16% : IT'S 'A DARK DAY IN AMERICA'Donald Trump spoke to reporters before heading into the courtroom on Tuesday morning, calling it "a dark day in America" and "a very sad day.
15% : He posted on the social platform X that Biden's allies "aren't in PA, MI, WI, NV, AZ or GA -- they're outside the Biden Trial against President Trump," adding: "It's always been about politics.
13% : TRUMP IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACYRobert De Niro said Tuesday morning that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump does not belong in the White House.
9% : You can not convict President Trump, you can not convict President Trump of any crime beyond a reasonable doubt on the word of Michael Cohen," Blanche said.
3% : BLANCHE ARGUES 'PEOPLE ALREADY KNEW' ABOUT DANIELS' CLAIMSTurning to Stormy Daniels' story, defense lawyer Todd Blanche noted in his summation that her allegations of a 2006 sexual encounter with Donald Trump were aired on a gossip site in 2011 -- four years before Trump announced his presidential candidacy.

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