NEW YORK — The jury in former President Trump’s case returned its first two scores after beginning deliberations hours earlier on Wednesday, making four requests to review critical testimony and asking to hear the judge’s instructions again before calling it a day. .
Jurors will receive the requested information on Thursday morning, when they will continue to ponder Trump’s fate.
In the first note, the 12 New Yorkers made four requests, each referring to the testimony of key witnesses: David Pecker and Michael Cohen.
The first note was announced by a loud bell that rang in the courtroom 3.5 hours after the jury began its deliberations. Within minutes, Trump and lawyers for both sides returned to the courtroom, and the judge took the bench to announce that the jury had sent a note. An hour later, another bell rang as the jurors sent in the second note.
In the opening statement, jurors first asked for a transcript of former National Enquirer editor Pecker’s testimony about a phone conversation he had with Trump during an investor meeting in New Jersey, and testimony related to the rights to Karen McDougal’s story.
The other two jury requests in that first request relate to a key meeting at Trump Tower in August 2015 that prosecutors say sparked the so-called “catch and kill” deals that underpin Trump’s case.
On the call, Pecker said Trump referred to McDougal — who claimed to have had an affair with Trump — as a “nice girl” and expressed concerns about executing a secret deal with the former Playboy model. Ultimately, Trump told Pecker that Cohen, Trump’s former fixer, would be in touch about the deal.
In closing arguments Tuesday, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass pointed to the call as a key moment linking Trump to the alleged scheme to bull his way into the White House in 2016, which Trump’s lawyers have rejected.
Jurors also requested a transcript of Pecker’s testimony about his decision not to finalize and fund McDougal’s life rights.
Pecker testified that he believed McDougal’s story needed to be bought because it would have been “very embarrassing” for Trump and his campaign. He coordinated with McDougal’s lawyer to pay him $150,000 for his lifetime rights and a host of other benefits, with Cohen promising that the tabloid would be reimbursed by the “boss,” or Trump.
The original plan was to transfer McDougal’s life rights to a shell company created by Cohen, but Pecker backed out at the last minute after consulting a lawyer. Pecker testified that Cohen, furious, then told him that “the boss” would be “very angry” with him.
The New Yorkers requested a review of the testimony of the two people who participated in the full Trump Tower meeting in August 2015 alongside Trump: Pecker and Cohen, who made the silent payment to a porn actress shortly before the 2016 election.
Both sides began scrambling to gather the relevant transcripts, drawn from thousands of pages that record every word of the trial.
A second jury note came soon after, in which jurors requested a rehearing of the judge’s instructions. It took more than an hour to read the instructions Wednesday morning, and Merchan asked the jury to clarify whether they wanted the entire reading or just a portion.
For now, however, Merchan dismissed the jury for the day, after more than four hours of deliberation.
Updated at 4:42 p.m.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
