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Ending Closing Argument, Trump Lawyer Urges ‘Very Quick and Easy’ Verdict

Prosecutors in the criminal trial of Donald Trump will give their closing argument after lunch. Jurors could begin deliberating by Wednesday.

 

Pool photo by Justin Lane
Updates From the Courtroom
Maggie Haberman
Maggie Haberman
Justice Merchan excoriated Todd Blanche for making an “outrageous” statement (asking the jurors not to send his client to prison). Merchan is clearly furious, and reminds Blanche, and not for the first time, that he was a prosecutor for long enough to know that it was out of bounds.
Jonah Bromwich
Jonah Bromwich
Todd Blanche introduces the acronym G.O.A.T., commonly used to stand for “greatest of all time.” He then applies the acronym to Michael Cohen. “Michael Cohen is the G.L.O.A.T.,” Blanche says. The “greatest liar of all time.”
Michael Gold
Michael Gold
Blanche listed 10 reasons that he believed the jury should have reasonable doubt as to Trump’s guilt. But the list was hard to follow. He misstated the fourth point, which he then broke into three parts.
Jonah Bromwich
Jonah Bromwich
Using a slide labeled “manipulation of evidence,” Blanche argues that Cohen somehow tweaked the digital evidence from his phones, including recordings. Blanche says jurors cannot trust those recordings, and more broadly, they cannot rely on Cohen himself.
Jonah Bromwich
Jonah Bromwich
Blanche lists the people who he says Cohen has lied to, which includes his wife, his children, his banker, the Federal Election Commission and “every single reporter he talked to for about a year.” Blanche follows with an attempted punchline: “He’s literally like the M.V.P. of liars.”
Maggie Haberman
Maggie Haberman
Blanche is now arguing that Stormy Daniels was called to testify in order to inflame the jurors’ emotions and to embarrass Trump. Prosecutors object, but Justice Merchan allows it.
Jonah Bromwich
Jonah Bromwich
Blanche presents something of an alternate theory to contest what the prosecutors have offered. He argues that Dylan Howard, the editor of The Enquirer, and Gina Rodriguez, Daniels’s manager, seized an opportunity to make money from Daniels’s story.
Jesse McKinley
Jesse McKinley
Blanche has twice noted that Stormy Daniels had denied having sex with Trump. While technically true, she subsequently provided her account of the sexual encounter to “60 Minutes,” in a book, in a documentary and here, where she testified under oath.

Trump Leans Into an Outlaw Image as His Criminal Trial Concludes

Preparing for a potential verdict in Manhattan, Donald Trump has increasingly aligned himself with fellow defendants and people convicted of crimes.

6 min read

A federal judge temporarily denied a gag order request by prosecutors in Donald Trump’s classified documents case.

3 min read

If Trump Is Convicted, How Will Biden’s Team Go on the Attack?

A guilty verdict for Donald Trump would be a gift for Democrats — but if it comes, President Biden’s campaign is unlikely to tear up its 2024 playbook.

6 min read

From left, Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden, walking to the Rose Garden at the White House.

Election updates: In a first, the Biden campaign held a news conference outside the Manhattan courthouse.

 

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Eyeing Trump, but on the Fence: How Tuned-Out Voters Could Decide 2024

Politically disengaged Americans are increasingly curious about Donald Trump, but President Biden has a shot at winning some of them back.

6 min read

Israeli Troops Keep Up Assault on Rafah After Condemnation of Deadly Strike

Israel said it was still operating in the Rafah area, even as outrage intensified in the wake of a deadly airstrike on a camp for Palestinians.

 

Members of a family walk down a street carrying possessions.

The Untold Story of the Network That Took Down Roe v. Wade

A conservative Christian coalition’s plan to end the federal right to abortion began just days after Donald Trump’s election in 2016.

28 min read

A photo illustration of the inside of an abortion clinic with a target set over it and various conservative figures surrounding.

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Pope Issues Apology After Reports That He Used an Anti-Gay Slur

Pope Francis’ remark came as he spoke against admitting gay men to seminaries during what was supposed to be a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops.

5 min read

The pope, dressed all in white, sits in a chair and reads from sheets of paper into a microphone.

Scanning the Dark Universe, Euclid Telescope Finds Scenes of Cosmic Light

The European Space Agency’s powerful Euclid telescope finally showed off its capabilities with a batch of breathtaking images and early science results.

1 min read

Who Plotted to Sell Graceland? An Identity Thief Raises His Hand.

A person using an email for the company seeking to foreclose on the former home of Elvis Presley said his ring was behind the threat to sell the landmark.

5 min read

Visitors wait in line outside Graceland in Memphis.

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Lawyers to Plastics Makers: Prepare for ‘Astronomical’ PFAS Lawsuits

At an industry event about “forever chemicals,” lawyers predicted a wave of suits that could dwarf asbestos litigation, audio from the event revealed.

6 min read

Industrial buildings, several with steam or smoke rising from them, line a riverbank.

Here are six things to know about “forever chemicals.”

3 min read

I.R.S. Failed to Police Puerto Rico Tax Break, Whistle-Blower Says

An insider accused the Internal Revenue Service of failing to scrutinize a lucrative tax break in Puerto Rico designed to lure wealthy Americans.

6 min read

Three large umbrellas stand on a beach with one person lying in the sun and another walking along the water.

Top FTX Executive Sentenced to Seven and a Half Years in Prison

Ryan Salame was the first of Sam Bankman-Fried’s deputies to be sentenced since the crypto exchange collapsed in November 2022.

4 min read

Ryan Salame of the crypto firm FTX leaving federal court in Manhattan in September, after pleading guilty to a campaign finance law violation and a charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

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The Great Read

A Final Graduation Requirement: Making Sense of Protest

As students in Columbia’s class of 2024 received diplomas, many of them were grappling with what intense activism on campus would mean for their futures.

9 min read

Mariame Sissoko, wearing a brown top and patterned skirt, sitting on a park bench.

Damaging Winds and ‘Very Large Hail’ Hit Central Texas

More than 650,000 customers were without power, as hail the size of golf balls and dangerous winds hit Texas on Tuesday.

3 min read

A man looks at damaged cars among other debris left behind by a tornado and storms in Valley View, Texas, over the weekend.

Jaap van Zweden’s Brief, Fraught Time Atop the New York Philharmonic

He arrived on a mission to reshape the ensemble as its music director. Now, as he departs, he’s still making sense of his pandemic-interrupted tenure.

10 min read

A portrait of an intense conductor, his head shaved, arms out, baton in hand. He looks at the camera. He’s wearing a black vest with a long zipper.

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Opinion

Melinda French Gates: The Enemies of Progress Play Offense. I Want to Help Even the Match.

4 min read

Noah Feldman and Alison Simmons

Harvard Should Say Less. Maybe All Schools Should.

5 min read

An illustration of a graduation cap connected by its tassel to a microphone.

John Waldman

We Can Turn a River in Maine Into a Paradise for Salmon

4 min read

Kai Bird

Will Roy Cohn Save Donald Trump’s Hide One Last Time?

4 min read

Michelle Goldberg

Michelle Goldberg

There’s Nothing Simple or Obvious About Trump’s Trial Defense

2 min read

Phil Buehler and Steve Siegel

In 1974, Two Film Students Rowed to Ellis Island. Here’s What They Captured.

2 min read

William Shoki

The Story of South Africa No Longer Makes Sense

5 min read

Jane Coaston

Jane Coaston

Ted Cruz Has Some Strong Opinions About College Sports

12 min read

The MorningNewsletter

China’s Role in Ukraine

Russia has been able to keep paying for the war, despite sanctions. How? U.S. officials point to Beijing.

7 min read

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Suggest Events for Flashback, Our Weekly History Quiz

Every week, we test your knowledge. Now we want to tap your brainpower to compile events.

1 min read

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