Trump’s silent trial: jury resumes deliberations

NEW YORK (AP) — The jury in Donald Trump’s case silence, money test is set to resume deliberations Thursday after asking to rehear potentially crucial testimony about the alleged hush money scheme at the heart of the historic case.

The 12-person jury deliberated for about 4 1/2 hours Wednesday without reaching a verdict.

In addition to asking to hear again the testimony of a tabloid editor And Former lawyer and personal arranger for Trumpthe jury also asked to review at least part of the judge’s hour-long instructions intended to guide them on the law.

It is clear how long the deliberations will last. A guilty verdict would be a stunning legal outcome for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee as he seeks to win back the White House, while an acquittal would represent a major victory for Trump and embolden him in his election campaign. Since verdicts must be unanimous, it is also possible that the case could end in a mistrial if the jury cannot reach a consensus after days of deliberations.

Trump struck a pessimistic tone after leaving the courtroom after jury instructions were read, repeating his claims of a “very unfair trial” and saying: “Mother Teresa couldn’t beat these charges, but we’ll see . “We’ll see how we get on.

He remained inside the courthouse during the deliberations, where he posted complaints about the trial on his social media and cited legal and political commentators who viewed the case in his favor. He did not testify in his own defense, a fact the judge told jurors they could not take into account.

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

The charge, a felony, stems from reimbursements made to Michael Cohen, then Trump’s lawyer after making a secret payment of $130,000 to Porn actor Stormy Daniels to silence her claims that she and Trump had sex in 2006. Trump is accused of misrepresenting Cohen’s reimbursements as legal fees to hide that they were linked to a secret payment.

Trump has pleaded not guilty and claims Cohen’s payments were for legitimate legal services. He also denied the alleged extramarital sexual relationship with Daniels.

To convict Trump, the jury would have to unanimously conclude that he created a fraudulent entry in his company’s records, or that he caused someone else to do so, and that he made with the intent to commit or conceal another crime.

Criminal prosecutors say Trump’s committing or concealment constitutes a violation of a New York election law prohibiting two or more conspirators from “promoting or preventing the election of any person to public office by means illegal.”

Even if the jury must unanimously agree that something illegal was done to promote Trump’s election campaign, it need not be unanimous on the nature of that illegal thing.

The jurors – a diverse cross-section of Manhattan residents and professional backgrounds – often seemed fascinated by the trial testimony, particularly that of Cohen and Daniels. Many took notes and watched intently as witnesses answered questions from Manhattan prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers.

Jurors began deliberating after a marathon day of closing arguments in which one prosecutor spoke for more than five hours, highlighting the burden the prosecutor’s office faces in establishing Trump’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt .

Team Trump does not need to establish his innocence to avoid a conviction, but rather must rely on at least one juror concluding that prosecutors did not sufficiently prove their case.

In their first communication with the court, jurors asked to rehear testimony from Cohen and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker. about an August 2015 meeting with Trump at Trump Tower where the tabloid boss agreed to be the “eyes and ears” of his very young presidential campaign.

Pecker verified that the plan included identifying potentially damaging stories about Trump so they could be squashed before being published. Prosecutors say that was the start of the catch-and-kill scheme at the heart of the case.

Jurors also want to hear Pecker’s account of a phone call he says he received from Trump in which they discussed a rumor that another media outlet offered to buy former Playboy model Karen McDougal. alleged story that she had an affair for a year with Trump in the mid-2000s. Trump has denied this affair.

Pecker verified that Trump told her, “Karen is a good girl,” and asked her, “What do you think I should do?” Pecker said he responded, “I think you should buy the story and take it off the market.” He said Trump told him he didn’t buy stories because they were still coming out and that Cohen would contact him.

The editor said he came away from the conversation believing Trump knew the details of McDougal’s claims. Pecker said he believed the story was true and would have been embarrassing for Trump and his campaign if it had been made public.

The National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc., ultimately paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to his story in a deal that also included writing and other opportunities with its fitness magazine and other publications.

The fourth item requested by jurors is Pecker’s testimony about his decision in October 2016 to walk away from a deal to sell the rights to McDougal’s story to Trump through a company Cohen had created for the transaction, known as an “assignment of rights”.

“I called Michael Cohen and told him that the agreement, the transfer agreement was broken. I’m not moving forward. “This is a bad idea, and I want you to break the deal,” Pecker tested. “He was very, very angry. Very angry. He basically yells at me.

Pecker testified that he reiterated to Cohen that he was not moving forward with the deal.

He said Cohen told him, “The boss is going to be very angry with you.” »

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