Jury meets in Trump trial
Jurors want to hear two witness statements again
30.05.2024, 01:24
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The hush money trial against Donald Trump is coming to an end. The twelve jurors are retiring to deliberate. After three hours they send a message to the judge. But they have not yet made a verdict.
In the hush money trial against Donald Trump, the jury has not yet reached a verdict on the first day of its deliberations. The twelve jurors adjourned until Thursday after four and a half hours of deliberations. They plan to reconvene at 9:30 a.m. (local time, 3:30 p.m. CEST). The verdict must be unanimous. It is not clear when the jury will announce its decision. This may take days. On the judge’s orders, Trump and his lawyers are not allowed to leave the courthouse while the jury is in session. This is to ensure that they are present when there is any news.
Trump is accused in the case of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. His personal lawyer Michael Cohen gave Daniels the money to prevent a revelation about an alleged sexual affair in 2006. Trump has admitted to paying Cohen back the money, but claims he had no sexual contact with Daniels. The presidential candidate denied all 34 individual charges in the case and spoke of a politically motivated case.
Three hours into their first day of deliberations, the jury sent a message to the judge asking to hear again certain passages of testimony from Cohen and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who testified about his efforts to avoid reporting stories that could damage Trump’s candidacy. The testimony will be read to the jury again in the courtroom on Thursday.
The verdict must be unanimous
Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche had played down the prosecution’s conspiracy allegations in his closing argument the day before and asked the jury to reject the accusation. After all, “every election campaign in this country is a conspiracy to promote a candidate.” His client is innocent and has not committed any crime. The case is not about an alleged meeting between Trump and Daniels 18 years ago, but about documents. “It’s a paper case,” emphasized Blanche, who also questioned the credibility of the witnesses.
In his closing argument, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass spoke of “conspiracy and cover-up.” His intent to defraud could not have been more obvious.
The jury’s deliberations can end in three ways: an acquittal, a guilty verdict, or a “hung jury” if unanimity could not be reached. In the latter case, the trial would be considered a “mistrial” and would have to begin again, including a new jury.
The judge will decide on a possible sentence at a later date. Theoretically, 77-year-old Trump faces up to four years in prison. However, this would be unusual. It is unclear whether a conviction could harm him in his efforts to be re-elected as US President in November.