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The stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White House
Donald Trump had “absolutely no intent to defraud” American voters in the 2016 election by surreptitiously paying off a porn actor who alleged an extramarital affair, his defence team argued as closing statements began in the first ever criminal trial against a former president.
“President Trump . . . did not commit any crimes and the district attorney has not met their burden of proof. Period,” Todd Blanche told jurors in the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday. He added that the “hush money” case was “about documents” and “not about an encounter with Stormy Daniels 18 years ago”, which Trump has consistently denied.
The remarks came as the trial entered its final stretch, after hearing from 22 witnesses over the course of five weeks, including Daniels, whose alleged encounter with Trump, 77, is at the heart of the case.
The court…