So Much Would Have To Be Ignored To Find Trump Not Guilty, Prosecutors Argue

After weeks of testimony, lawyers for Donald Trump and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office are making their closing arguments to the jury in the first-ever criminal trial of a former president.

For the DA’s office, it is a chance to bring the witnesses’ statements into context, and tie what the jury has heard to the crimes with which Trump is charged.

Follow along with us.

What to expect

• Each side will make their closing argument to the jury on Tuesday, capping off a trial that has run roughly five weeks.
• The DA's office will outline why it alleges Trump falsified business records, and the ways in which those records were in furtherance of a crime. Attorneys for the DA have argued multiple crimes were committed with the records, leaving the jury with multiple paths to find Trump guilty.
• Trump's legal team's defense, so far, has been scattershot, seeking to simply present witnesses as hopelessly mired in the same seamy muck that prosecutors accuse Trump of swimming in. How they seek to undermine the actual charges during closing arguments Tuesday will be one point of interest. Here is a rundown of what to look for.
• Judge Juan Merchan suggested last week that the jury could expect to begin deliberating Wednesday.
• The jury must reach a unanimous verdict. If they can't, this attempt to try Trump may end in a mistrial.