NEW YORK — Jury deliberations in Donald Trump’s criminal trial are expected to begin Wednesday after the panel receives instructions from the judge on the law governing the case and what they can take into consideration when assessing the former president’s guilt or innocence. .
The historic deliberations follow Tuesday’s whirlwind of closing arguments, which stretched into the evening, when prosecutor Joshua Steinglass accused Trump of intentionally misleading voters by allegedly participating in a “catch and kill” scheme to bury stories that could destroy his 2016 presidential bid. Steinglass further suggested that Trump operated with a “gentlemanly disposition” to hide rewards and did so in a way that “left no paper trail.”
The defense approached its summary the same way it approached cross-examination: by targeting the credibility of key witness Michael Cohen. Defense attorney Todd Blanche called Trump’s former lawyer “the biggest liar of all time” while urging jurors to quickly acquit his client.
Trump faces 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records, charges that are punishable by up to four years in prison. He denied all wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
At the center of the allegations are reimbursements paid to Cohen for a secret $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for not going public with her claim about a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.
Prosecutors say the refunds were falsely recorded as “legal expenses” to hide the true nature of the transactions.
The case is the first of Trump’s four indictments to come to trial and is the first criminal case against a former US president.
At the moment:
— Cohen’s credibility, court campaign and other highlights from closing arguments
— Rallies and debates used to define campaigns. Now they’re about juries and trials
– Biden campaign appears outside Trump trial with Robert De Niro and others
– Another big name will be in Manhattan court on Wednesday: Harvey Weinstein
– Trump Hush Money Case: A Timeline of Key Events
Here are the latest:
Over more than four weeks of testimony, prosecutors called 20 witnesses. The defense only scored two.
Among the prosecution’s key witnesses are former Trump lawyer and negotiator Michael Cohen, porn star Stormy Daniels, tabloid editor David Pecker and lawyer Keith Davidson, who negotiated hush money deals for Daniels and the former model by Playboy Karen McDougal.
Cohen testified that he paid $130,000 in hush money to Daniels at Trump’s request weeks before the 2016 election to keep her quiet about her allegations of a sexual encounter with him a decade earlier. Trump denies that the meeting took place. Cohen also said Trump was involved in an agreement to reimburse him and record the payments as legal expenses.
Daniels sometimes gave a graphic account of the alleged encounter.
Pecker testified about agreeing to be the “eyes and ears” of the Trump campaign, warning Cohen about negative stories, including Daniels’ claim.
Davidson talked about negotiating the deals and what he said was Cohen’s frustration after the deal with Daniels that Trump still hadn’t reimbursed him.
The defense’s star witness was attorney Robert Costello, who testified last Monday and Tuesday about the negotiation to represent Cohen after the FBI raided Cohen’s properties in 2018.
Jury deliberations in Donald Trump’s secret trial will take place in secret, in a room specifically reserved for jurors and in an intentionally opaque process.
Jurors can communicate with the court through notes that ask the judge, for example, for legal advice or for specific excerpts of testimony to be read to them.
But without knowing what the judges are saying to each other, it’s difficult to read much into the meaning of any score.
Donald Trump won’t be the only big name to appear before a judge in lower Manhattan on Wednesday — movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is expected to appear at a hearing related to the retrial in his historic #1 era rape case MeToo.
The hearing will take place in the same courtroom where Trump is currently on trial and where Weinstein was originally convicted in 2020.
Weinstein’s conviction was overturned in April after the court concluded that the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that were not part of the case. His retrial is scheduled for sometime after Labor Day.
The judge in Donald Trump’s secret trial may have one last business to deal with on Wednesday before jurors are given instructions and can begin deliberations.
Last Monday, defense attorneys filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the case, arguing that prosecutors failed to prove their case and there was no evidence of falsified business records or intent to defraud.
Prosecutors refuted that claim, saying “the evidence from the trial overwhelmingly supports each element” of the alleged crimes, and the case should go to the jury.
Judge Juan M. Merchan did not indicate when he would issue a ruling on the request. More than a week later, it remains unclear whether he will address the issue before the case goes to the jury.
Jurors in Donald Trump’s secret trial are expected to begin deliberations on Wednesday after receiving instructions from the judge on the law governing the case and what they can consider as they strive to reach a verdict in the first criminal case against a former US president.
The panel has a heavy task ahead of it – deciding whether to convict or acquit Trump of some, all or none of the 34 criminal charges he is accused of.
But what needed to be proven for a conviction?
To convict Trump of the crime of falsifying business records, prosecutors had to convince jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that he not only falsified or caused business records to be entered falsely, but also did so with intent. of committing or concealing another crime. Any verdict must be unanimous.
To avoid a conviction, the defense needed to convince at least one juror that prosecutors had not proven Trump’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the standard for criminal cases.
If the jury deadlocks after several days of deliberations and is unable to reach a unanimous verdict, the judge may declare a mistrial.
