Inside the New York courtroom where Donald Trump was convicted on all charges in his historic criminal trial, there was so much tension it was like watching a movie.
From my seat in the third row, directly behind Trump’s advisers and lawyers, I could clearly see the former president shaking his head in disgust as the first of 34 verdicts was read.
As a newly convicted man walked out of the 15th floor courtroom, his son Eric extended his fist and Trump met it with a punch.
The former president had a face like thunder and a pout that could not hide his fury at having been found guilty of all charges of falsifying business records.
Inside the New York courtroom where Donald Trump was convicted on all charges in his historic criminal trial, there was so much tension it was like watching a movie.
The reading of the verdict could not have been better written to increase the tension, leading to a surprise twist at the end.
At 4.15pm on Thursday everyone began to return to the courtroom for what we thought was the end of the day.
Judge Merchan said he planned to send the jury home at 4:30, and for the next 15 minutes, everyone, including Trump, more than 100 reporters and prosecutors, sat in the courtroom on the 15th floor, waiting.
Trump laughed and joked with his lawyer Todd Blanche at the defense table. At one point, Blanche was laughing so hard that he covered his face with his hand.
But shortly after 4:30 p.m., the mood changed dramatically when Judge Merchan said the jury had sent a note, the fourth.
They had a verdict.
As a newly convicted man walked out of the 15th floor courtroom, his son Eric extended his fist and Trump met it with a punch.
There was a loud gasp in the room and the tension shot through the roof.
Judge Merchan told everyone in court that there should be “no outbursts” when the verdict was announced.
The jury note asked for 30 minutes to complete the form, which was 40 pages long, so we had to wait again.
Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, entered and sat in the public gallery.
The six alternate jurors entered and sat across from him.
Now Blanche was putting her hand to her face again, this time nervously.
Shortly after 4:30 p.m., the atmosphere changed dramatically when Judge Merchan said that the jury had sent a note, the fourth. they had a verdict
The former president had a face like thunder and a pout that did little to hide his fury at having been found guilty of all charges of falsifying business records.
As time passed, an employee in the courthouse well closed her eyes and breathed in and out a few times.
Journalists had problems with spotty Wi-Fi and one journalist’s computer ran out of batteries.
Suddenly, Judge Merchan returned and called the jury.
Eleven court security officers stood guard along with four Secret Service agents as the jury returned, walking just over 1 foot away from Trump as he stood at the defense table.
Nobody looked him in the eye.
Judge Merchan told the jury that he had received their note at 4:20 pm. He asked the foreman if they had reached a verdict and he said yes.
The foreman, a former waiter who works in sales at a cosmetics company, stood up and took a microphone passed to him.
A judicial officer read him the first charge and asked him: “How do you say?”
To stunned silence in the courtroom, the foreman said, “Guilty.”
The officer read two more charges and each time the foreman said the same thing: guilty.
Trump shook his head when the third was read.
The officer read two more charges and each time the foreman said the same thing: guilty. Trump shook his head when the third was read.
The judicial officer reviewed each of the 34 charges and each time the verdict was the same: guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty.
The foreman’s voice only shook once, but otherwise he spoke with a clear voice that was heard around the world.
Trump looked ahead as the verdicts piled up, seemingly stunned or unsure what to make of the decision.
The judge asked the jury if that was indeed their verdict and they said yes in unison.
They were then asked each if that was their verdict and each responded “yes, it is” or “yes.”
As phones buzzed with updates showing the verdict, Judge Merchan paid tribute to the jury and praised their “dedication and hard work”.
He said they were ‘involved and committed’ and said ‘you gave this matter the attention it deserved;
In a desperate Hail Mary, Blanche asked the judge to issue an order of acquittal.
He said, “There is no basis and no way this jury would have reached this verdict without believing Mr. Cohen’s testimony,” referring to Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen.
Trump raises his fist as he waves to a crowd waiting in Manhattan in front of Trump Tower.
Blanche said: “We believe he lied, perjury was committed.”
Judge Merchán denied the request.
Blanche asked for a mid- to late-July sentencing date, as Trump faces a three-day hearing in the documents case in Florida in late June and “they wouldn’t be able to focus on this matter” if it were before then. date.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass did not object and the judge set the sentencing for July 11 at 10 a.m.
The judge asked about Trump’s bail status and prosecutors said he was released there on his own recognizance. Judge Merchan said that would continue.
Trump stood up, punched Eric with his fist, and walked out with a scowl on his face.
By the time he left the courtroom he had come to his senses and criticized the verdict as “rigged” in one of his usual tirades.