Trump trial, prosecution closes indictment after six hours: 'Overwhelming evidence, he must be convicted'

After six hours, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass concluded the arguments against Donald Trump in the ongoing trial in New York over the payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. It was Judge Juan Merchan who gave the prosecutors a time limit of 8pm local time, 2am in Italy.

Thus, after almost six hours, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass concluded his indictment, the last act of the trial phase in the case against Donald Trump for the under-the-table payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. "You have to put aside the distractions, the press, the politics, the noise. Focus on the evidence and the logical inference that can be drawn from that evidence," Steinglass told the jury. "Use common sense and follow the judge's legal instructions. In the interest of justice and on behalf of the people of the State of New York, I ask you to find the defendant guilty," the prosecutor concluded.

The indictment sought to prove that the tycoon was 'the instigator' behind the illegal actions of his lawyer Michael Cohen by comparing him to a 'husband who hires a hitman to kill his wife'. "No one is saying that the defendant actually got on the computer and typed in the fake invoices, but he set in motion a chain of events that led to the falsification of the documents," the prosecutor said.

'The evidence is overwhelming,' Steinglass conccluded, emphasising that 'although Trump is a former president, the law applies to him as well'. In the coming hours, early afternoon in Italy on Wednesday 29 May, Judge Merchan will instruct the jury, which will then retire to deliberate. Judgment is expected by the weekend, but many analysts have warned that the jury may not reach a verdict.

Twelve jurors are being called upon to decide on the guilt or non-guilt of the former president, who is accused of falsifying his company's accounts to pay Daniels, through her former lawyer Michael Cohen, to buy her silence on the eve of the 2016 election about an alleged past sexual relationship.