by Luc Cohen, Jack Queen and Andy Sullivan
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Jurors in Donald Trump’s criminal trial over money paid to former porn star Stormy Daniels began deliberating on Wednesday.
This is the first time that a US president or former president has been tried criminally and it is difficult to estimate how long the jury’s deliberations will last.
Donald Trump is accused of illegally falsifying documents to disguise evidence of a payment made before the 2016 presidential election in an attempt to buy Stormy Daniels’ silence about an extramarital affair. The former tenant of the White House has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing.
“Mother Teresa could not stand up to these accusations,” Donald Trump told reporters outside court. “This whole thing is completely fake.”
Shortly before the start of deliberations, Judge Juan Merchan recommended to jurors not to base their decision solely on the testimony of Michael Cohen, the billionaire’s former lawyer who allegedly paid $130,000 to buy the ex-star’s silence. of X.
“Even if you find Michael Cohen’s testimony to be credible, you should not convict the defendant based on that testimony alone unless you find it corroborated by other evidence,” Juan Merchan said.
The judge made the remarks as part of his detailed instructions to the 12 full jurors and six alternates who attended the proceedings.
“You must put aside any personal opinion, bias or prejudice that you may have towards the defendant,” he recommended.
A conviction of Donald Trump would not, however, prevent him from running in the presidential election next November or from becoming president if he were to win against his successor Joe Biden. The two men are neck and neck in voting intentions, according to polls.
The Republican candidate also faces three other criminal cases, relating to his efforts to overturn the result of the presidential election against Joe Biden in 2020 and his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving office in 2021.
None of these three cases are expected to be judged before the presidential election.
(Jack Queen and Luc Cohen in New York with Andy Sullivan in Washington; French version Camille Raynaud)
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