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.