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 role-plays alleged call between Cohen, Trump

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass addressed the defense allegation that Michael Cohen lied on the witness stand about an Oct. 24, 2016, phone call with Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller while Schiller was with Trump.

“Of course the defense says, ‘Ah-ha! That’s per-jur-y,’” Steinglass said, exaggerating the syllables to mimick how defense attorney Todd Blanche had said it during his closing.

“To them, that’s the big lie. But that’s not the only interpretation,” said Steinglass.

Steinglass then role-played the alleged conversation between Schiller and Cohen to suggest that Cohen could have talked to both Schiller and Trump during the 90-second call, as Cohen had testified.

“Forty-nine seconds,” Steinglass said after completing the role-play.


Cohen is 'understandably angry,' prosecutor says

"Michael Cohen is understandably angry that to date he's the only one who paid the price," prosecutor Josh Steinglass said about the state's star witness.

"Cohen did the defendant's bidding for years," Steinglass said. "Anyone in Cohen's shoes would want the defendant to be held accountable.

Regarding Cohen stealing $30,000 from the Trump Organization by submitting an inflated reimbursement request for IT expenses, Steinglass said Cohen "is the one who brought it to everyone's attention. He raised it. He volunteered it."

As to why he wasn't arrested, Steinglass said, "he paid his price."

"He's been convicted of multiple felonies, ... he can't get a mortgage ... not to mention the steady stream of online attacks," Steinglass said.

And, Steinglass added, Cohen's theft is not a defense to falsifying business records.


State says Trump didn't want public to hear Daniels' story

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass conceded that Stormy Daniels gave, at times, "cringe-worthy" testimony -- but told they jury the details she provided bolster her credibility.

"To be sure, there were parts of her testimony that were cringe-worthy," Steinglass said. "Some of the details of what the suite looked like, the contents of his toiletry bag" he said "ring true."

He accused the defense of working hard to discredit Daniels because that's the story Trump didn't want the American public to see.

"Stormy Daniels is the motive," Steinglass said. "And you can bet the defendant would not pay $130,000 ... just because he took a photograph with someone on the golf course."


Prosecutor calls Pecker's testimony 'devastating'

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass took aim at the defense assertion that Stormy Daniels was out to extort Donald Trump.

"Maybe you think it's a sordid practice," he said. "In the end it doesn't really matter because you don't get to commit election fraud or falsify business records because you believe you have been victimized."

Steinglass told the jurors that many of the witnesses they heard from are Trump friends or fans.

"Pecker has no reason to lie here," he said, speaking of former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker. "He still considers Donald Trump a friend and mentor, and still his testimony is utterly devastating."

"These people like the defendant," Steinglass said. "If anything, they have incentive to skew the testimony" in a way that will help him.


Jury deliberations scheduled to get underway

The jury in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial is scheduled to begin deliberating the outcome of the case this morning after lengthy closing arguments yesterday.

Judge Juan Merchan will begin the proceedings at 10 a.m. ET when he instructs the jury about the law in the case -- a vital process that Merchan estimates will take approximately an hour.

Once the jury is charged, they can begin deliberating whether prosecutors met their burden by proving that Trump falsified 34 business records to further a criminal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election.

The jury heard nearly eight hours of summations yesterday when defense lawyer Todd Blanche and prosecutor Joshua Steinglass delivered marathon closing arguments.

Blanche told jurors that prosecutors failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt due in part to their reliance on the testimony of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who he described as the "human embodiment of reasonable doubt."

Steinglass argued that Trump's alleged falsification of records ahead of the election amounted to a "subversion of democracy" by hiding critical information from voters.