Trump trial: Jury deliberations under way in hush-money case

Summary

Jurors in Donald Trump's historic criminal trial began deliberations - the 12 New Yorkers must reach a unanimous verdict
The jury asked after lunch for testimony on a meeting with Trump, his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen and former tabloid publisher David Pecker
The court has heard from 22 witnesses over six weeks, including Stormy Daniels, whose alleged sexual encounter with Trump is at the centre of this case
Trump is accused of concealing a payment made to buy the former adult-film star’s silence shortly before the 2016 election
He has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, and denies any sexual encounter with her
Prosecutors accuse Trump of an "elaborate scheme", while the defence called the other side's star witness Michael Cohen the "MVP of liars"
It is the first time in history that a US president - former or current - has faced a criminal trial

Live Reporting

Edited by Tiffany Wertheimer and Brandon Livesay

No phones, one room, and only talk about the case as a grouppublished at 16:27 British Summer Time 29 May
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan says the jury will be kept together in a jury room, and they won't be able to leave except for designated breaks.
They will have to hand their phones over to court officers, and will only be allowed to talk about the case with each other.
They must all be together when they discuss the case, so that nobody misses an important part of the conversation.
What happens once a verdict is reached?published at 16:25 British Summer Time 29 May
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan is going over the procedure when jurors have made their decision.
He says the entire jury will be asked to come back into the court.
The jury foreperson will then be asked for the verdict for each of the 34 charges.
And individual jurors must confirm that is the verdict as well.
Judge tells jury to 'listen to each other'published at 16:23 British Summer Time 29 May
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan explains to the jury that they must reach a unanimous verdict.
He encourages the jurors to “listen to each other," and "give each other’s views careful consideration”.
They must deliberate with the intention to reach an agreement, if that can be done without surrendering individual judgement.
He encourages them to keep an open mind when talking to fellow jurors about the case.
Intent versus motivepublished at 16:21 British Summer Time 29 May
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan is giving the jurors some important definitions.
He tells them about intent: it means a “conscious objective or purpose" to engage in a criminal act, or to "bring about an unlawful result”.
Motive, on the other hand, is the reason why the person chooses to engage in criminal conduct.
Prosecutors are not required to prove a motive for the crime. But evidence of one - or a lack of one - may be considered by jury.
Judge clarifies exactly what the second alleged crime ispublished at 16:20 British Summer Time 29 May
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
During the trial the prosecution has alleged a few crimes that Donald Trump may have been trying to conceal or commit, by falsifying business records.
They did not focus on a particular one.
Today, Justice Merchan appears to have clarified that the second alleged crime was -violating New York State election law prohibiting election interference.
Protesters gather outside courtpublished at 16:12 British Summer Time 29 May
Alex Lederman
Reporting from outside court
A few dozen protesters and a smaller number of counter-protesters have gathered outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse as jury deliberations are set to begin.
We’ve seen small crowds throughout the trial, and while the numbers still aren’t huge, there’s a slight uptick from previous weeks.
The Trump die-hard supporters remain a colourful cast of characters - waving their flags, banners and, of course, wearing their MAGA hats.
Security is heightened as well. Yesterday, we saw additional barricades being set up, and there’s a notable uptick in police officers.
Judge goes through each chargepublished at 16:08 British Summer Time 29 May
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan is now going through all 34 charges, one by one.
He explains the first charge relates to a record tied to Michael Cohen's reimbursement for a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels.
Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that first, Donald Trump personally, or in concert with someone else, caused a business record to be falsified with intent to defraud.
They must prove the defendant did so with an intent to defraud, that included the intent to commit another crime.
If they find that prosecutors have proven both elements beyond a reasonable doubt, they must find Trump guilty of the charge.
If the jury finds that prosecutors did not prove one or both elements beyond a reasonable doubt, they must find him not guilty of this charge.
New York's tax laws come into the fraypublished at 16:03 British Summer Time 29 May
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
The third crime prosecutors allege Donald Trump tried to conceal is a violation of New York tax laws.
Under these laws, it’s illegal to prepare false tax records.
Prosecutors allege Trump did so because Michael Cohen’s reimbursement for the hush-money payment was recorded as income, so he paid taxes on it.
In this case, he actually overpaid taxes rather than underpaid - which can still be illegal - according to prosecutors.
The law around the alleged second crimepublished at 15:54 British Summer Time 29 May
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan is explaining a key part of the prosecutor’s case to the jurors. They allege that Trump falsified business records with the intent to conceal another crime.
He gives them an important instruction: the prosecution does not actually need to prove that the other crime was in fact committed.
He instructs them on the first of several other crimes prosecutors allege took place: violation of election laws.
The law prevents people from conspiring to promote or prevent the election of any person by unlawful means.
Judge explains chargespublished at 15:52 British Summer Time 29 May
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan is now explaining the charges Trump faces: falsifying business records in the first degree.
Under New York law, he explains, a person is guilty of this crime when the person "makes or causes a false entry in the business records of an enterprise" with an intent to commit another crime, or aid or conceal or commission a second crime.
"Any general intent to defraud any person or entity suffices," he explains.
Judge explains what it would take to find Trump guilty beyond a reasonable doubtpublished at 15:49 British Summer Time 29 May
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan reminds the jurors that they are considering 34 counts of falsifying business records.
And he notes New York law recognises that two or more individuals can act together to commit a crime, and one can be held criminally liable for the actions of another.
This is a key instruction for this case because Trump himself was not always the one to fill out the invoices, cheques and ledgers at the heart of this case.
Instead, prosecutors argue that he caused the false records.
The judge reminds jurors that the “mere presence at the scene of the crime” or mere association does not by itself make the defendant criminally liable.
To find Trump guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, he must have solicited, requested, commended or intentionally aided the person to engage in the conduct, the judge says.
Judge gives special instructions about Cohen's testimonypublished at 15:45 British Summer Time 29 May
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Under the law, Michael Cohen is considered an accomplice because he participated in some of the crimes alleged here in this trial.
While the jury can consider his testimony, there is a specific instruction at play.
The judge tells them that “you may not convict a defendant solely upon his testimony" unless they find it is corroborated by other evidence.
Lawyers listen intently as judge gives instructionspublished at 15:43 British Summer Time 29 May
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
It’s a good day to have a pair of binoculars in the overflow room.
On the screen, we can see Donald Trump’s slightly smaller than normal entourage. His son, Donald Trump Jr, is sitting in the first row next to Trump’s attorney Alina Habba.
They are studying papers in front of them carefully as the judge reads the instructions out loud.
Trump, meanwhile, continues to sit back in his chair with his eyes closed while his lawyers seemingly read the instructions next to him.
Inside the courtroom ahead of jury deliberationspublished at 15:42 British Summer Time 29 May
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
We have our first pictures of Donald Trump in court today, which were taken before proceedings began.
Trump, hands folded over a stack of notes, is sitting at the defence table with his lawyers, as court officers and spectators are visible behind them.
Now court has started, there will be no more photography. Our next glimpse inside the courtroom will come from sketch artists.
How do you tell if a witness is truthful?published at 15:39 British Summer Time 29 May
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Image source, Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
Image caption,
Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, was grilled relentlessly about his past convictions as the defence worked to portray him as a liar motivated by money and fame
Justice Merchan is highlighting a principle that could become very important in this case: how to weigh if a witness was telling the truth.
If they believe a witness was not telling the truth, “you may disregard that witnesses’ entire testimony," or disregard as much of it as they found untruthful, Justice Merchan explains to the jury.
You may consider whether a witness had, or did not have, a motive to lie, Justice Merchan continues.
There is no formula for determining whether a witness was telling the truth, he explains, but they can consider evidence and bring to bear their own life experience when assessing someone's testimony.
These instructions are given to every jury, but hovering over this particular proceeding is one name: Michael Cohen.
What is reasonable doubt?published at 15:32 British Summer Time 29 May
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan is now telling jurors about the burden of proof in this case.
It’s a high burden - prosecutors must prove Trump’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“It is not sufficient to prove that the defendant is probably guilty. In a criminal case, the proof of guilt must be stronger than that,” Justice Merchan says.
He goes on to explain exactly what this means: that a reasonable doubt is an “honest doubt” of the defendant’s guilt based on the nature and quality of the evidence.
It’s an actual doubt, not an imaginary doubt.
Silence broken in awkward momentpublished at 15:31 British Summer Time 29 May
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Suddenly, we hear a snippet of audio playing out of a device belonging to one of Trump's entourage. It sounded like part of a broadcast or podcast.
Phones, audio and recordings usually aren't allowed in the courtroom, but members of Trump's team seem to have special leeway. Several of them use laptops and their phones in court.
There is an awkward silence as whoever's device was playing tries to silence it.
After a pause, Justice Merchan continues with his instructions without remarking on the disturbance.
Judge brings up Michael Cohen's convictionspublished at 15:27 British Summer Time 29 May
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan has mainly been reading standard instructions for New York juries.
But now, he is getting into the particulars of this case.
He tells jurors that some of the witnesses in the trial have entered into agreements with prosecutors, or have been criminally convicted.
He explains to the jurors that these agreements and convictions are not evidence of Trump’s guilt himself.
For instance, jurors heard information about Michael Cohen’s 2018 conviction. But that was to “provide context about events that followed” and jurors should only view the evidence in that context, he says.
Jury pays close attentionpublished at 15:25 British Summer Time 29 May
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
The jury is listening intently to the judge as he gives these all-important instructions.
Some of them appear to take notes as Justice Merchan walks them through how they can consider certain testimony introduced into this case.
'Consider only the evidence'published at 15:24 British Summer Time 29 May
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
“When you judge the facts you are to consider only the evidence,” Justice Merchan tells the 12 jurors.
He says if a question was successfully objected to, they must disregard the answer to that question.
Jurors may consider “any fact that is proven and any inference that can be drawn” from that fact.