NEW YORK, May 28, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Prosecutors in the trial of Donald
Trump will make a final pitch to the jury Tuesday, in their historic pursuit of the first ever
criminal conviction of a former US president.

Less than six months before American voters choose whether to return Trump to the White
House, the stakes riding on the verdict are hard to overstate -- for the 77-year-old personally,
but also for the country as a whole.

Trump is accused of falsifying business records to buy the silence of adult film star Stormy
Daniels over a 2006 sexual encounter between them that could have damaged his 2016
presidential bid.

If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison on each of 34 counts, but legal experts say
that as a first-time offender he is unlikely to get jail time.

Crucially, a conviction would not bar Trump from appearing on the ballot in November as the
Republican presidential challenger to Democrat Joe Biden.

It has taken nearly five weeks, the testimony of more than 20 witnesses and a few courtroom
fireworks to reach closing arguments -- the last chance for the prosecution and defense to
impress their case on the anonymous, 12-member jury.

As expected, Trump chose not to testify in his defense -- a move that would have exposed
him to unnecessary legal jeopardy and forensic cross-examination.

Instead, he was forced to sit and listen while Daniels recounted their alleged encounter in
sometimes graphic detail.

Speaking to reporters before and after each day in court, Trump launched regular tirades
against Judge Juan Merchan -- calling him "corrupt" and a "tyrant" -- and condemned the
whole trial as "election interference" by Democrats intent on keeping him off the campaign
trail.

The politics of the case were in full view in the final days when a coterie of leading
Republicans -- including several vice-presidential hopefuls -- came to the court and stood
behind Trump in a gesture of support as he spoke to the press.

- Unanimity required –

The judge has said he expects closing arguments to take up all of Tuesday.

He will then give his final instructions to the jury, who will likely begin their deliberations on
Wednesday.

To return a guilty or not guilty verdict requires unanimity. Just one holdout means a hung jury
and a mistrial.

Aside from Daniels, the key prosecution witness was Michael Cohen, Trump's former "fixer"
turned bitter foe who said he arranged the $130,000 hush money payment so her story "would
not affect Mr Trump's chances of becoming president of the United States."

Trump's defense team devoted most of their questioning trying to discredit Cohen, recalling
that he had admitted lying to Congress and spent time in prison for tax fraud.

In addition to the New York case, Trump has been indicted in Washington and Georgia on
charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

He also faces charges in Florida of allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving
the White House.

None of those trials are expected to take place before the November election.