Trump trial: Biden calls Trump's remarks 'dangerous'

Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts in his hush money trial.

Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 felony counts related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been convicted on criminal charges.

Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.


Trump guilty on all 34 counts


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Prosecutor again stresses Trump's frugality

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass read back some of the quotes from Trump's books to highlight Trump's frugality and micromanaging.

Steinglass mocked the defense argument that Trump didn't have control over the words in the books he wrote.

Steinglass compared it to a Yogi Berra quote: "I really didn't say everything I said," which drew laughs from the jury.

"He doesn't like spending money, and he's proud of it," Steinglass said of Trump, reminding jurors that David Pecker testified to this as well. He's a "micromanager" who "insists on being involved in the details" of his business, Steinglass said.

Steinglass quoted from Trump's book, "Think Like A Billionaire," which urged readers to "pay attention to the small numbers in your finances" and called frugality the "most important money management skill a person can use."

"That has been his philosophy from the beginning," Steinglass said. "The cardinal sin for Mr. Trump is overpaying for anything."

Steinglass read one quote where Trump emphasized to always check invoices, including from decorators.

"If Donald Trump is checking the invoices from his decorator, you can bet he is checking his invoices from Michael Cohen," Steinglass said.


Trump knew what payments were for, prosecutor says

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass laid out the DA's case for why Trump should be found guilty of falsifying records, even if he didn't pen them himself and just directed it to be done.

"Tarasoff may be doing the typing, but the defendant is causing the false business records," Steinglass said, referring to Trump Organization accountant Deborah Tarasoff.

Steinglass said Trump "doesn't want to leave a paper trail" and instead would "have his lackeys do it."

"If Trump didn't know about the scheme, why was he just signing the checks 'for services rendered' for $35,000 each month?" Steinglass asked.

"Does he call Cohen and say, 'Why'd I pay you $35000 for nothing?' No. He just signs it. Every month. He never once picks up the phone, he never once makes further inquiry," said Steinglass.

"Despite his frugality and attention to detail, the defendant didn't ask any questions. Because he already knew the answers."


Prosecutors cite 'mountain of evidence' against Trump

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass' tone reached a crescendo as he ticked through a "mountain of evidence" he said that jurors would have to ignore to acquit Donald Trump.

"You'd have to disregard the fact" that Cohen wasn't paid in 2018, Steinglass said, and that Donald Trump repeatedly acknowledges in court papers, political filings and his own Twitter account that he knew the payments to Cohen were reimbursements.

"That means by definition he knew that the payment records ... were false," Steinglass said.

Jurors would also have to accept that "the amount he was paid just happens to magically" match what he paid for Stormy Daniels' story.

"Does anyone believe that?" Steinglass asked.

Trump, at the defense table, glanced at the monitor displaying the invoices that Steinglass was referencing. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head before returning to a slouched position.


Prosecutor stresses why payments weren't legal fees

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass emphasizing why the jury should not believe the 2017 payments to Michael Cohen were legal fees.

"The testimony was that he did less than 10 hours of legal work [in 2017] ... Cohen spent more time being cross-examined for this trial than he did doing legal work for Trump in 2017," Steinglass said.

"The fact is, Cohen did pretty well here. He got a cool title -- Personal Attorney to the President -- that he used to his advantage to get consulting gigs.

"He was making more money than any government job would ever pay -- and boy, do I know that," Steinglass joked, receiving a few chuckles from the jury.

"The defense must maintain that these were legal fees, because to say anything else is to admit that the business records are false -- and they can't do that," Steinglass said.


Defense says National Enquirer followed 'standard procedure'

Defense attorney Todd Blanche highlighted that American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer, normally helped campaigns with suppressing negative information.

"This is the same thing AMI had been doing for decades," Blanche said. "They had been doing it for President Trump since the 90s."

"Nothing criminal about it -- it's done all the time," Blanche said.

Blanche added that AMI worked with Rahm Emanuel and Arnold Schwarzenegger during their campaigns and that published David Pecker thought his arrangement with Trump was "good business."

"There is zero criminal intent in that 2015 meeting," Cohen said about the Trump Tower meeting where prosecutors argued that the conspiracy originated.

Blanche calls the idea that "sophisticated people" like Trump and Pecker "believed positive stories in the National Enquirer could influence the 2016 election is preposterous."

Blanche highlighted the limited circulation of the National Enquirer -- about 350,000 at the time of the alleged scheme -- prevented the publication from having a meaningful impact on voters.