Hush money trial: Prosecution emphasizes need for jurors to look at documents

Closing arguments began Tuesday in the criminal hush money trial against former President Donald Trump.

Judge Juan Merchan said it was likely the trial would run late, due to length of arguments, which are anticipated to take around two and a half hours for the defense and about four and a half for the prosecution, and he would be keeping jurors late.

Merchan did note he would be giving the jury snack breaks because they “seem to like that.” He also admonished Trump attorney Todd Blanche for suggesting the jury could send Trump to jail, noting that he would issue a jury instruction remaining the panel that possible punishment is not supposed to be be considered when determining guilt or innocence.

Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, faces 34 criminal charges alleging that he falsified business records during the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors allege the records were falsified to hide $310,000 in payments that were tied to a porn star’s allegations that she had a sexual relationship with Trump.