Trump Trial: Ex-President's Attorney Claims Michael Cohen Lied Under Oath in Closing Arguments
- Trump's trial has begun with his attorney accusing Michael Cohen of lying under oath.
- The attorney is presenting the case first, following New York law.
- The ex-president has expressed dissatisfaction, calling the process 'very unfair.'
Attorneys for former President Donald Trump gave their final arguments in his trial. The jury will decide if Trump is guilty of making fake records about a secret payment to Stormy Daniels. They said the jury should not trust what Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels said. Trump is accused of 34 crimes for making fake records about paying Cohen. To find Trump guilty, the jury must be very sure he made fake records at his company to hide other crimes, like tax crimes or breaking campaign finance laws. The attorney said the checks Trump gave Cohen were not fake, and Trump paid Cohen for legal work because he was Trump's lawyer. Cohen said he worked for Trump for free and the checks were separate. The attorney argued there is no proof Trump knew about any plan to pay Cohen. They said Trump did not mean to cheat anyone, as he told the IRS and ethics forms about the payments. They also said there was no crime Trump was trying to hide by paying Daniels. The attorney said the Trump campaign was not worried about Daniels' story coming out, and the tape of Trump talking badly about women did not hurt the campaign as much as Cohen said. They said Trump did not know about the payment to Daniels, and Cohen paid her without telling Trump. The attorney said Cohen is a big liar and the prosecutors are okay with him lying. It is not known how long the jury will take to decide. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election to keep quiet about their alleged affair, which Trump denies.