During the closing argument of the case, prosecutors are honing in on a hush money payment that has become central to the proceedings. The payment in question took place on October 27, 2016, when Michael Cohen, on behalf of then-candidate Donald Trump, allegedly paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels' attorney through a shell company. This payment was purportedly made in exchange for Daniels' silence regarding an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
Despite denials from Trump regarding both the affair and the payment, prosecutors assert that Daniels initially approached American Media Inc., whose executives then brought the story to Cohen at the behest of Trump. It is alleged that Trump instructed Cohen to delay the payment as much as possible, suggesting that waiting until after the election could potentially negate the need for the payment altogether.
The accusations against the former president include involvement in an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election and a purported unlawful scheme to suppress negative information, with the payment to Daniels being a key component. Prosecutors claim that Trump allegedly orchestrated the transaction to appear as a legitimate payment, going so far as to falsify business records multiple times in an effort to bolster his candidacy.
