New York, May 28, (dpa/GNA) – Donald Trump’s lawyer proclaimed his client’s innocence as the first criminal trial of a former US president entered its final phase on Tuesday.

“You cannot convict President Trump on any crime beyond a reasonable doubt on the words of Michael Cohen,” defence lawyer Todd Blanche told the 12 jurors in the New York courtroom who will decide Trump’s fate in the hush money case, according to reporters inside.

Blanche, making his closing argument to the jury, was referring to Trump’s former lawyer turned star prosecution witness.

Blanche attacked the credibility of Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018 of lying to Congress, among other charges. He spent just over 13 months in jail.

The closing arguments are the last opportunity to influence the opinion of the jurors. The jury will retire for deliberations after the prosecution’s closing presentation. A verdict was expected later Tuesday or Wednesday.

Trump, who is seeking the White House again in this November’s election, is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of a scheme involving Cohen to conceal a $130,000 pay-off made to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Daniels said the money was given to keep her quiet about an affair she had with the Republican in 2006. He has admitted to paying her on the eve of the 2016 election to stop her “false and extortionist accusations” but denies any sexual encounter.

At the trial, Cohen testified over the course of several days that he worked at Trump’s direction to orchestrate the payments to buy the silence of Daniels.

Cohen made the $130,000 payment out of his own pocket. At the crux of the case is how Trump’s real estate company falsely logged the reimbursements to Cohen in its financial records and whether Trump had full knowledge of the scheme.

Crucially, the prosecution argues that because the pay-off was made to keep the public from learning about the alleged sexual encounter ahead of the election, the cover-up involving the financial records amounted to illegal campaign financing. This allegation elevated what would have been a lower-level misdemeanour case to felony charges.

Trump faces a maximum of several years behind bars, but most legal experts expect a fine if he is convicted.

Trump claims without any evidence that he is a victim of political persecution orchestrated by Democrats to keep him from the White House. Even if he is convicted, the Constitution does not prevent a felon from running for the presidency. GNA