Jury deliberations begin in Donald Trump’s Hush-Money case

(NEW YORK) – Jury deliberations began Wednesday in Donald Trump’s secret trial, placing the outcome of the historic case in the hands of a dozen New Yorkers who have pledged to be fair and impartial in the face of their unprecedented task.

The jury of seven men and five women was sent to a private room shortly before 11:30 a.m. to begin considering the verdict in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. The jurors’ discussions will be secret, although they can send notes to the judge asking to hear testimony again or see the evidence. This is also how they will notify the court of a verdict, or if they are unable to reach one.

“It is not my responsibility to judge the evidence here. It’s yours,” Judge Juan M. Merchan told jurors.

Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records at his company in connection with an alleged scheme to hide potentially embarrassing stories about him during his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential election.

See more information: What will happen if Trump is convicted? Your questions, answered

The charge, a felony, arises from refunds paid to Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, after he made a secret $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels to silence her allegations of an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump is accused of misrepresenting Cohen’s case. reimbursements as legal expenses to hide that they were linked to a secret payment.

Trump has pleaded not guilty and maintains that Cohen’s payments were for legitimate legal services.

To convict Trump, jurors must find beyond a reasonable doubt that he falsified or caused business records to be falsely entered and did so with the intent to deceive and to commit or conceal another crime.

Under the law, if they don’t find that prosecutors have proven one or both of these elements, they must acquit Trump. Prosecutors allege that Trump falsified business records to hide violations of campaign finance law and a violation of a state election law, alleging a conspiracy to promote or prevent an election.

Just hours before deliberations began, Trump posted another all-caps speech about the trial, the judge and Cohen on his social media network before leaving Trump Tower for the courthouse Wednesday morning.

He called it the “Kangaroo Court!” and falsely claimed that the judge prohibited him from defending himself, claiming that his alleged actions were taken on the advice of his then-attorney, Cohen. Trump’s lawyers notified the court in March that they would not rely on that defense.

“There was no crime except the bum who got caught stealing from me!” Trump said, apparently referring to Cohen. He added, again in capital letters: “In God we trust!”

The jurors — a diverse group of Manhattan residents and professional backgrounds — often seemed fascinated by trial testimony, including from Cohen and Daniels. Many took notes and watched intently as witnesses answered questions from Manhattan prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers.

Jurors began deliberating after hearing final submissions from the prosecution and defense in the form of closing arguments and after being briefed on the law by Merchan, who offered some guidance on the factors the panel might use to evaluate witness testimony. including its plausibility, its consistency with other testimony, the manner in which the witness provides testimony, and whether the person has a motive to lie.

But, the judge said, “there is no specific formula for evaluating the veracity and accuracy of another person’s statement.”

The principles he outlined are standard, but perhaps even more relevant after Trump’s defense leaned heavily on questioning the credibility of key prosecution witnesses, including Cohen.

Any verdict must be unanimous. During deliberations, six alternate jurors who also attended every minute of the trial will be kept in the courtroom in a separate room in case they are needed to replace a juror who becomes ill or unavailable. If this happens, deliberations will begin again as soon as a replacement juror is appointed.