Former US President Trump sits next to the dock in the court, and the jury is scheduled to continue deliberating his hush money trial at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on May 30, 2024.
Justin Lane – Pool/Getty Images
hide title
Switch title
Justin Lane – Pool/Getty Images
New York jurors in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial returned to Manhattan Criminal Court this morning for a second day of deliberations.
In the first criminal case against a former or sitting president of the United States, 12 jurors will need to unanimously convict or acquit Trump. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 election, must wait in the building for jury selection to be completed. This may take hours or even days.
Jurors returned to the courtroom at 9:30 a.m. Thursday to review multiple demands they made during the first five hours of deliberations the day before. They asked that portions of the testimony be read to them.
Specifically, the passages jurors questioned were from ex national enquirer Tabloid publisher David Pecker: On phone calls with Trump, negotiations surrounding buying story from Playboy model Karen McDougal and August 2015 interview with Trump Testimony provided on negotiations for meeting with Trump at Trump Tower. The stenographer read the transcript.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that during a 2015 meeting at Trump Tower, Trump, Pecker and Cohen made an agreement to use Pecker’s tabloid network to find and eliminate stories that could damage the Trump campaign . Prosecutors said the deal ultimately led to the “captures” and payments of McDougal and adult film star Stormy Daniels. Both were paid to stay silent about their alleged affairs with Trump in the months leading up to the 2016 election.
Jurors also asked New York Judge Juan Merchan to reread parts of the jury instructions that described how they should consider certain testimony, laws regarding liability, the definition of intent and New York tax law.
Prosecutors accuse Trump of falsifying business records to cover up another crime. Other crimes may be tax or campaign finance violations that do not require agreement or certification, the instructions say.
Jurors were also asked to wear headphones so they could listen to audio evidence provided to them on a laptop. Merchan also supplies the speakers.
A recap of instructions and testimony is likely to take up much of the morning, and jurors will have the afternoon to deliberate. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts and has argued the trial is a witch hunt because it limits his ability to campaign nationally.
