Donald Trump trial live updates: Wait for verdict continues as jury deliberates for second day in hush money case

After Judge Juan Merchán concluded his instructions to the jury, he had one last order for Donald Trump, his legal team and prosecutors.

“I ask everyone to be here,” he said Wednesday, before heading to his locker room. “You can’t leave the building.”

It’s another humbling moment for the man who was leader of the free world for four years and could be again after the November election.

He delayed traffic with his motorcade and closed airspace on Air Force One. But for the past five weeks in a New York courtroom, Trump has had to follow rules set by a judge and enforced by bailiffs.

Jury deliberations began Thursday and twelve New York jurors now hold the fate of former US President Donald Trump in their hands.

They deliberated for four and a half hours and sent the judge two notes so that the testimonies could be read before being sent home.

These were the great moments of the day:

• Jury instructions: Judge Juan Merchán read the jury instructions to the jurors in a calm and collected tone. The judge told the jury to consider only the evidence and ordered them to put aside prejudices and opinions about the former president. Merchan then read the law and the 34 charges against Trump. He also explained how the deliberations would unfold.
• Deliberations begin: The twelve jurors were then escorted out of the courtroom to begin deliberations. They deliberated for about four and a half hours on the jury’s first day of deliberations.
• Trump sets expectations: As the jury began deliberating, Trump spoke to the media where he criticized the entire case as “rigged” and criticized the “conflicted” judge. He said that “Mother Teresa could not overcome those charges.”
• The jury sends two notes: As jury deliberations continued into the afternoon, the jury sent two notes with requests to the judge. The first requested four testimonies. The jury wants to hear again Pecker’s testimony about a phone conversation with Trump while he was at an investor meeting, about a decision on Karen McDougal’s life rights deal and about a meeting at Trump Tower. They also want testimony from Michael Cohen about the meeting. The jury also asked to hear the jury instructions again.

Donald Trump left Trump Tower and headed to his motorcade.

The former president, wearing a light blue tie, waved briefly before boarding a van.

The jury in Trump’s hush money trial is entering the second day of deliberations. Yesterday they deliberated for more than four hours and sent two notes before being dismissed for the day. But it’s hard to say where the jury stands based on the length of deliberations so far.

“It’s very difficult to make predictions about the deliberation process because we’re not in the room,” says Cheryl Bader, an associate professor at Fordham Law. “We also have no idea of ​​these 12 people and what their dynamic is.”

‘It’s a lot of testimony; It is an important case. “There is a lot to gain by sitting without being able to talk to anyone for weeks and weeks,” he adds. “So I think the first thing they want to do is talk about it and talk to each other.”

Bader wasn’t surprised if there was no verdict on the first day of deliberations, but he also wouldn’t be surprised if there was a verdict at the end of the week.

Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s lawyer Alina Habba and his campaign press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, were among his supporters in court Wednesday as jury deliberations began.

His loyal assistant Natalie Harp, known to some as the “human printer” for giving him copies of newspaper articles, was also in the courtroom.

Twelve Manhattan residents hold Donald Trump’s fate in their hands as the landmark hush money case against the former president heads into jury deliberations.

Through six weeks of sometimes salacious and sometimes grueling witness testimony, the jury listened intently as prosecutors laid out their case and Trump’s defense team tried to sow doubt.

Seven men and five women, including a corporate lawyer and a woman who called the former president “selfish,” will ultimately determine whether or not Trump is guilty of concealing a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about his affairs. alleged affair in an effort to influence the 2016 election.

DailyMail.com breaks down what we know about who decides Trump’s innocence or guilt.

Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized the case against him as “rigged” as he left the courtroom.

“Mother Teresa could not overcome those accusations,” Trump said in statements to the media. “But we’ll see.”

The former president also attacked Judge Merchán.

“The judge is so bewildered that he can’t breathe,” he said.

Trump criticized Merchan for contributing to President Biden and suggested she has done “much worse than that, but I’m not allowed to talk about it because of a gag order.”

Donald Trump and his eldest son, Don Jr., posted a TikTok Wednesday night in which the duo was seen sitting together in a back room of Manhattan Criminal Court making up their next evil tweet.

Judge Juan Merchán concluded his instructions to the jury on Wednesday as they retired to consider their verdict, but he had one last order for the former president, his legal team and prosecutors.

“I ask everyone to be here, please,” he instructed. You can’t leave the building.

This means that, for the first time in weeks, Trump has free time.

Sitting with their son in one of the courthouse’s white-walled meeting rooms, accompanied by a bottle of Diet Coke and several boxes of chocolates, the couple turned the camera on themselves to create a short clip.