Prosecution showing “clearest sign” for not guilty Trump verdict: Avenatti

Michael Avenatti, a former lawyer for Stormy Daniels, took to social media on Tuesday amid closing arguments in former President Donald Trump‘s trial, saying that the prosecution is displaying the “clearest sign” why the case “compels a not guilty verdict.”

On X, formerly Twitter, Avenatti mentioned the ongoing closing arguments saying, “The clearest sign yet that the hush money case should have never been filed or tried is the fact that the prosecution team believes they need a 4 HOUR! closing to convince the jury. This alone demonstrates loads of reasonable doubt and compels a not guilty verdict.”

Newsweek senior reporter Katherine Fung is inside the courtroom as the former president is on trial in New York, accused of falsifying business records in an attempt to conceal hush money paid by his former lawyer Michael Cohen to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee in the November presidential election, denies that he had sexual relations with Daniels and has pleaded not guilty to all 34 felony counts in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Fung also noted that the defense team for Trump took over two hours in their closing argument and the prosecution team has taken over three hours so far.

The clearest sign yet that the hush money case should have never been filed or tried is the fact that the prosecution team believes they need a 4 HOUR! closing to convince the jury. This alone demonstrates loads of reasonable doubt and compels a not guilty verdict

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) May 28, 2024

Trump also posted during a court break amid the ongoing closing arguments, “FILIBUSTER!” and “BORING!” on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday evening.

In an emailed statement to Newsweek on Tuesday, Trump’s campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, “The American People have witnessed in real time, the unprecedented and disgraceful weaponization of our justice system by Crooked Joe Biden‘s Democrat Party.”

Cheung continued: “The charges against President Trump should have never been filed and this show trial should have never occurred. The Biden Trial is craven election interference. President Trump is innocent and the American people know it, as they have now seen the absurdity of the Democrats‘ un-Constitutional Witch Hunt in action. Crooked Joe is a failed president running a failing campaign because he is the worst, most corrupt, and incompetent president in history, and very soon President Trump will make America great again.”

Meanwhile, former U.S. attorney and legal analyst Barbara McQuade told Newsweek on Tuesday, “Both closings were far too long. I understand the instinct to leave no stone unturned, but human attention spans are not as long as they used to be.”

McQuade continued: “I tried never to go more than an hour in closing argument, even in the most complex of cases. And this one wasn’t all that complex. I think there’s a serious risk that you lose the attention of the jury if you go longer than 90 minutes or so. The goal is to help the jury see the forest for the trees. Too many trees can muddle the forest.”

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg also told Newsweek on Tuesday, “I thought the State’s closing was thorough and powerful, although I agree it could have been shorter. Still, do not confuse this with weakness. It is a product of the mountain of evidence against defendant Trump.”

During the prosecution’s closing argument, Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the jury about what he called the “smoking gun” in the case against the former president.

During the defense team’s closing argument, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche listed for the jury 10 reasons why they should have “reasonable doubt” in this case and ultimately deliver a not guilty verdict. The defense wrapped their closing argument around 12:50 p.m.

Newsweek has reached out to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office via email for comment regarding court on Tuesday.

Update 8:50 p.m. ET 5/28/24: This story was updated with Dave Aronberg’s comment.