Prosecutor says Trump tried 'to hoodwink voters' while defence attacks key witness in last arguments

Prosecutors accuse Trump of conspiracy in hush money trial, defense calls star witness "greatest liar of all time."

Donald Trump engaged in a conspiracy “to hoodwink voters” in 2016, a prosecutor told jurors on May 28 during closing arguments in the former President’s hush money trial, while a defence lawyer branded the star witness as the “greatest liar of all time” and pressed the panel for an across-the-board acquittal.

The lawyers' duelling accounts, wildly divergent in their assessments of witness credibility, Mr. Trump's culpability and the strength of evidence offered both sides one final chance to score points with the jury before it started deliberating the first felony case against a former American President.

The landmark case, the only one of four criminal prosecutions against Mr. Trump to reach trial, centred on allegations that Mr. Trump and his allies conspired to stifle potentially embarrassing stories during the 2016 presidential campaign through hush money payments — including to a porn actor who alleged that she and Mr. Trump had sex a decade earlier.

“This case, at its core, is about a conspiracy and a cover-up,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told jurors, who are expected to begin deliberations on May 29. He later added: “We’ll never know if this effort to hoodwink voters made the difference in the 2016 election, but that’s not something we have to prove.”

Mr. Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche told jurors that neither the actor, Stormy Daniels, nor the Trump attorney who paid her, Michael Cohen, can be trusted.

“President Trump is innocent. He did not commit any crimes, and the district attorney has not met their burden of proof, period," Mr. Blanche said.

Following more than four weeks of testimony, the summations tee up a momentous and historically unprecedented task for the jury as it decides whether to convict the presumptive Republican presidential nominee ahead of the November election. The political undertones of the proceedings were unmistakable as President Joe Biden’s campaign staged an event outside the courthouse with actor Robert De Niro while Mr. Blanche reminded jurors the case was not a referendum on their views about Mr. Trump.