Trump's lawyer, prosecution make closing arguments in hush money trial

NEW YORK - Former US president Donald Trump's lawyer and the prosecutor from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office made closing arguments on Tuesday in the weeks-long hush money trial in a court in Manhattan, New York City.

Trump's attorney Todd Blanche firstly called key witness and former attorney for Trump, Michael Cohen, "literally like an MVP of liars," and the crime prosecutors say Trump sought to cover up was merely politics as usual.

"Every campaign in this country is a conspiracy to promote a candidate," said Blanche.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said the case is not about Cohen, but is about Trump and whether he should be held accountable.

Trump struck a corrupt bargain with a tabloid publisher and his former fixer Cohen to silence negative stories, which "could very well be what got Mr. Trump elected" in 2016, said Steinglass.

Jurors are expected to start deliberations on the case on Wednesday and could hand out a verdict in the coming days.

Trump faces 34 felony counts in the case on falsifying business records in a bid to hide hush money payment of 130,000 US dollars in 2016 to porn star Stormy Daniels, who also appeared as one of the key witnesses in the trial.

The trial started on April 15 and was expected to last six to eight weeks.

As the first former US president to stand a criminal trial and the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee in the 2024 US general election, Trump faces four criminal indictments.