New York jury instruction to determine the nature of the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump (Romney) Brinkley (D-Minnesota)
NEW YORK — Twelve New York jurors have begun deliberations in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial. They’ll decide if Trump is convicted or acquitted of some of the charges against him. This is the first criminal trial against a former or sitting U.S. president.
There was no dispute regarding the payments and invoices labeled as legal services. The New York election law made it a crime for any two or more persons who attempt to prevent or promote the election of a person to a public office by using illegal means to do so. The jurors were able to choose whether those unlawful means were violating the Federal Elections Campaign Act, falsifying tax returns, or falsifying other business records.
The verdict must be unanimous. If all 12 jurors can’t agree, the jury is considered “hung,” and the judge will declare a mistrial. The district attorneys will have to decide if they want to try the case again.
On Wednesday, New York Judge Juan Merchan reminded the jury of their promise to be impartial and leave their biases at the door. For an hour, he delivered the jury instructions, reminding jurors that some evidence — such as former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s guilty plea to violating federal campaign finance laws, or certain headlines that ran in newspapers — is used only to establish the credibility of other witnesses, and give context to the timing of events, and not to determine Trump’s guilt.
Merchan also explained how the jury should define the law at hand, which includes the intent to defraud and falsify business records. He said that prosecutors argued that Trump wanted to hide his breaking of election law in New York.
The jury can look at three of the prosecution’s theories in order to determine if this is true.
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The jury will give up their cellphones and go into a room to deliberate. They have one laptop with all the evidence. They will deliberate until at least 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The legal teams have been told not to leave the building if a jury note indicates a question or a possible verdict.
The centerpiece of the case was testimony from Jeff McConney, who worked at the Trump Organization after the election, about his handwritten notes and documents.
In August 2015, two months after Trump announced his 2016 presidential bid, David Pecker, then the publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid, met with Trump and Cohen at Trump Tower, according to Pecker’s testimony.
The plan, as Pecker outlined it, was that he would suppress these stories, and at the same time publish negative stories about Trump’s opponents. Some of these stories, Pecker said, were sent to Trump and Cohen for approval prior to publication.
In early October 2016, according to the testimony of former Trump communications aide Hope Hicks, the campaign was rocked by the release of the Access Hollywood tape, where Trump could be heard boasting “When you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the p****.”
The testimony states that Daniels felt she had to have sex with Trump when she found him in his underwear after leaving the suite’s restroom.
She said that Trump was trying to get a role on the show. This detail — that the sex wasn’t entirely wanted — caused the defense to request a mistrial, which was denied. Trump had a reason to suppress the story. Prosecutors said, “Trump knew what happened in that hotel room” and didn’t want it to come out. The adult film actor’s testimony also included intimate details of her alleged sexual encounter, some of which Judge Merchan agreed with the defense were not necessary.
A key record is the bank statement showing Cohen’s wire transfer. That record included handwritten notes from Cohen and Trump’s former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, describing the $130,000 payment that would be “grossed up” to cover Cohen’s taxes. That sum, combined with another reimbursement and a bonus, for a total of $420,000, was paid out over 12 months at a rate of $35,000 per month.
The witnesses corroborate the point that Trump was making a payment to influence the election in order to keep women on board. Hicks, who said Trump, by then in the White House, told her that it was better the story came out in 2018, rather than 2016.
The payments are described as a legal retainer. (Weisselberg, who is serving jail time for perjury in Trump’s civil fraud trial, did not testify.)
Cohen said he and Weisselberg met and discussed the agreement with Trump shortly before he left for Washington, on or about Jan. 17, 2020. Cohen said Trump approved the deal, saying at the end of the meeting that “it was going to be one heck of a ride,” in Washington. Cohen said he and Trump discussed the arrangement again, in early February, in the Oval Office. Photos and White House records corroborate that the two met in the Oval Office at the time.
The jury lineup for Trump’s first trial in New York City (and he won’t be seen again by the public). Judicial proceedings are open to the public
This decision in New York is likely to have rippling effects as Trump campaigns as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. For now, the other 54 criminal charges he faces have not turned off potential voters and, among some Republicans, the cases have bolstered support for him. Swing and independent voters might not like a conviction.
The jurors range from all over Manhattan, including Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen, Murray Hill and the Upper West Side. Investment bankers are just some of the people that they are. Their hobbies range from wood and metal working, hiking, fly fishing and exploring New York City. There are 11 people, 7 men and 5 women.
Merchan has tried to ensure that the jury remains anonymous, citing safety concerns. Lawyers have access to the jurors’ names, and they are not allowed to take pictures or record them.
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The real verdict is going to come from the people, said Trump. We didn’t do anything wrong. I’m a very innocent man.” Even though the federal government did not bring the charges, he still blamed the Biden administration for the trial. The X account for Trump’s presidential campaign posted an image Thursday evening, showing him with his fist raised and the words “NEVER SURRENDER,” along with a link to his campaign site.
Reporters from The New York Times, CNN and other media outlets noted that Trump changed from being lighthearted to serious when he realized a verdict had been reached.
The former president’s future legal battles include challenges over his retention of classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago bathroom and his alleged election interference through a phone call to a Georgia election official imploring them to “find” enough votes for him to win the state.
Since federal and state trials in Washington D.C., Florida, and Georgia have been delayed, there is only one remaining criminal case that will be heard during the presidential election in November.
The latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, from May, showed that 17% of voters said they would be less likely to vote for Trump if he is convicted, while 15% said they would be more likely to vote for him. It doesn’t make a difference for registered voters if Trump is found guilty in the trial.
Republicans quickly dismissed the indictment as an overreach of power by Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who had brought the charges. The case has been described by Trump as interference in his campaign.
On Thursday, 12 New York jurors said they unanimously agreed that Trump’s business records hid a $130,000 payoff to Stormy Daniels to prevent her from talking about an affair with him.