The former president’s jury Donald Trump’s “financial silence” affair In New York, deliberations began on the 34 counts he faces, leaving the country bracing for a verdict in the first trial of a former president in U.S. history.
The 12 Manhattan residents are tasked with reaching a unanimous decision on each of the counts accusing Trump of falsifying business records.
Before jurors received the case on Wednesday, Judge Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the trial, issued crucial instructions laying out the legal questions they must consider and the conclusions they must reach if they have the intent to find Trump guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He advised them to ignore any bias they might have for or against Trump.
“Jurors, you will recall that during jury selection you agreed that you must set aside any opinions or biases you had for or against the defendant and that if you decide this case against the evidence and the law,” the judge said. “You must set aside any opinion or bias and you must not allow any opinion or bias to influence your judgment.”
Prosecutors say he hid the one-year repayment target from his lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid $130,000 in “hush money” to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. pleaded not guilty.