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A Manhattan jury of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, a landmark verdict in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. This is Yahoo News’ brief update on the criminal and civil cases against Trump. Here are the latest news.
What happened today
At the conclusion of the second day of deliberations, a New York jury hearing the case brought against Trump by District Attorney Alvin Bragg notified the judge Juan Merchan had reached a verdict. Read aloud in the lower Manhattan courtroom with Trump and Bragg looking on, the jury found the former president guilty on all charges. The presumptive Republican presidential candidate reacted to the verdict by promising to “continue fighting” against what he said was a “rigged” trial against him.
Getting closer
The jury begins the day by hearing testimony read aloud: The second day of deliberations began with the jury returning to the courtroom. They had asked the judge to read aloud some witness testimony (jurors can take notes during a trial, but they cannot make recordings). Tellingly, a portion of that testimony referred to an August 2015 meeting at Trump Tower between former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, former National Enquirer editor David Pecker, and Trump. This was the meeting in which Cohen and Pecker testified that the three men devised a plan to prevent negative stories from appearing in order to help Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Merchan also repeated his instructions to jurors on how to reach a verdict in the case.
Waiting game: After the jury left the courtroom to continue deliberations, Trump returned to a waiting room in the courthouse. , Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. In a post on his social media while the jury was working, Trump claimed that Pecker’s testimony acquitted him.
“The testimony conclusively showed that I clearly said, ‘I DO NOT BUY STORIES!’ Not that there is anything wrong with doing that – non-disclosure agreements are PERFECTLY LEGAL AND COMMON!” Trump wrote.
The verdict: As the hours passed, it seemed that the jury could be excused Thursday without having reached a verdict. Merchan said he would excuse the jury at 4:30 pm ET if they had not reached a verdict. Moments later, however, Merchan informed the courtroom that the jury had, in fact, reached verdicts. “Please, no reactions or outbursts of any kind,” the judge told the courtroom audience before the jury was seated again.
The jurors, whose identities Merchan ordered to remain anonymous, voted unanimously that Trump was guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
“I want to personally thank you for your service,” Merchan told the jury after the verdicts were read.
Initial reactions: Trump, who has expressed outrage at being impeached throughout the trial, did so again outside the courthouse. “We will continue fighting, we will fight until the end and we will win because our country has gone to hell,” he said.
The Trump campaign sent an email quoting Trump as saying, “I am a political prisoner!” at the same time he requests money.
Bragg posted a message on X responding to the verdict: “Today, a jury found Donald J. Trump GUILTY on ALL 34 felony counts.”
Cohen issued his own statement saying: “Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law. “While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters.”
The Biden campaign also saw fit to comment on the outcome of the trial.
“There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box,” Michael Tyler, the campaign’s communications director, told the New York Times. “Convicted or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.” president.”
Whats Next?
Trump will be sentenced on July 11. His lawyers have vowed to appeal the guilty verdicts, a process that could drag on for several months. The maximum possible penalty, which Merchán will decide, would be four years in prison, but the judge could also simply fine the former president and put him on probation. Meanwhile, Trump has announced that he will hold a press conference about the trial on Friday at 11 a.m. ET.
