Donald Trump has complained that his lawyers will not get the final word in the closing arguments of his hush-money trial, a remark that legal experts have mocked.
In a post on Truth Social, the former president suggested Monday that the prosecution would have a “big advantage” in the trial by delivering its closing statements to the jury after his lawyers delivered theirs.
“WHY IS THE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT ALLOWED TO MAKE THE FINAL ARGUMENT IN THE CASE AGAINST ME? WHY CAN’T THE DEFENSE GO LAST? BIG ADVANTAGE, VERY UNFAIR. WITCH HUNT,” Trump wrote on the platform.
It is common practice in criminal trials for prosecutors to summarize their closing arguments last, as the burden of proof falls on them.
The prosecution has argued that Trump arranged for his former lawyer Michael Cohen to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep an alleged affair she had with him a secret in the run-up to the 2016 election.
The sum was listed in Trump’s company records as Cohen’s “legal fees,” which prosecutors say was part of an unlawful attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential race. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to the payment.
