NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Closing arguments will begin Tuesday in the criminal hush money trial against former President Donald Trump.
Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, faces 34 criminal charges alleging that he falsified business records during the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors allege the records were falsified to hide $310,000 in payments that were tied to a porn star’s allegations that she had a sexual relationship with Trump.
Hush money payments themselves aren’t necessarily illegal but may become illegal if done in connection to another crime or as blackmail. In this case, the payments are being considered by prosecutors as illegal campaign contributions, making them a violation of campaign finance law.
Trump has maintained his innocence since being charged and has claimed he is the victim of a political witch hunt.
Looking ahead to jury deliberations
While 18 jurors were chosen, 12 will decide Trump’s fate (the other six are alternates). Once closing arguments conclude, the jury will be sent to deliberate on a verdict.
The panel of jurors must consider each of the 34 charges against Trump and reach the same decision for the judge in the case to move forward. If the jury cannot reach the same decision, the judge could declare a mistrial.
The 34 charges Trump faces include 11 counts of falsified invoices, 12 counts of falsified general ledger entries and 11 counts of falsely recording hush money payments.
20-year maximum sentence
The maximum sentence Trump could face if convicted is 20 years in jail. While each felony count carries up to four years in jail, adding up to 136 years, New York law limits the sentence for this type of crime to a maximum of 20 years.
Should Trump go to prison, he won’t be going alone, as the Secret Service will have to go with him to continue his protection.
Not all first-time offenders go to jail, however, and Judge Juan Merchan could impose a lesser sentence, which could include fines and/or some combination of probation or community service. The fine for falsifying business records as a felony count is $5,000, though it’s not entirely clear if that would be per count, which would add up to a maximum of $170,000.
It’s also possible the jury could find Trump guilty of a lesser misdemeanor offense, which comes with the possibility of fines, probation or up to one year in jail per count.
The jury could also return a mixed verdict, finding Trump guilty on some counts but not others, which would also impact the possible sentence.
Witness testimony
During the trial, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called 20 witnesses while making his case, and Trump’s legal team summoned two witnesses to the stand.
Star witnesses included former Trump fixer Michael Cohen — who has already pleaded guilty to federal charges of campaign finance violations — as well as former Trump aide Hope Hicks and former American Media, Inc. CEO David Pecker.
Adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who received one of the payments, also took the stand with salacious testimony about her alleged sexual interaction with Trump.
Prosecutors spent 15 days laying out their case, and the defense team took just two to make arguments.
Bragg’s team alleged that Trump was aware records were being falsified to cover up the nature of hush money payments made in an effort to mislead voters prior to the 2016 election. The defense, meanwhile, has disputed testimony from Daniels and Cohen and attempted to distance Trump from the payments.
Remaining cases against Trump
Regardless of what happens in New York, Trump is still facing two federal criminal cases and a criminal case in Georgia. However, it’s appearing increasingly unlikely that those will go to trial before the November election.
Trump’s Georgia election interference case is on hold pending Trump’s appeal of a judge’s decision to allow Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the case despite her romantic involvement with former prosecutor Nathan Wade. Trump’s defense team in that case argued the relationship presented a conflict of interest, and a judge ruled that either Wade or Willis had to step down from the case, which Wade did.
The federal election interference case against Trump, brought by special counsel Jack Smith, is also delayed while the Supreme Court weighs Trump’s claims that presidents should have absolute immunity from prosecution.
The court hasn’t ruled yet, but one possible outcome is for the case to be sent back to the lower courts, which would mean more delays.
Trump is also facing charges for unlawfully retaining and improperly storing classified documents after he left office. That case, also brought by Smith, has been put on indefinite hold by Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee.
Cannon cited arguments about how classified evidence should be handled as the reason, but others have blamed incompetence or accused her of making the decision to help Trump stall his cases until after the election.
2024 presidential election
Even if Trump is found guilty in one or more of these cases, he is still able to run for president. He is also eligible to run and serve even if he is in prison, though it’s not entirely clear how that would work.
Running from behind bars isn’t entirely without precedent. In 1920, socialist Eugene Debs ran for the presidency from a federal prison while serving time for sedition after urging people to resist the military draft.
The multiple criminal cases against Trump haven’t dimmed support from Republican voters, but there is polling that indicates a conviction could sway moderate and swing voters when it comes to the ballot box.
NewsNation’s Jeff Arnold contributed to this report.
