DA Bragg praises verdict after Trump is found guilty on all counts in NY trial
A jury on Thursday found former President Donald Trump guilty on all charges brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
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Former US President Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump attend UFC 299 at Kaseya Center on March 09, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Ivanka Trump wrote a heartfelt message to her father Thursday hours after a Manhattan court found him guilty on all counts in his criminal trial.
“I love you dad,” the message read, along with a heart emoji and a picture of young Ivanka with her father.
The post marked Ivanka Trump’s first public remarks following her father’s conviction.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said after Trump's guilty verdicts on Thursday that the judicial system "must be respected" and that the city's police force will be on alert for any protests, small or large.
“Today, a jury of 12 New Yorkers registered their verdict. Our criminal justice process must be respected," Adams said in a press release after the verdict.
"As we await the next steps, New Yorkers should rest assured that the NYPD stands ready to respond to any and all circumstances, including large-scale protests. While peaceful protests and assembly will always be protected, we will not be a city of any form of lawlessness.”
His statement comes just weeks after multiple anti-Israel protests on college campuses in the city, including Columbia University and NYU.
May 30 was the declared Memorial Day for nearly a century before the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1971 moved such holidays and observations to Mondays.
On Thursday, just after former President Donald Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, his son Eric Trump tweeted that May 30 was a day his father was elected back into office as the 47th President of the United States.
"May 30th, 2024 might be remembered as the day Donald J. Trump won the 2024 Presidential Election," the younger Trump wrote.
The former president still faces a sentencing scheduled for July but is still the presumptive Republican candidate for the White House this fall.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said the guilty verdict Thursday has outraged Americans, whether they publicly show it or not.
"I have not seen one person interviewed on the major networks tonight that has appropriately expressed the American people’s rage and disgust about Trump being convicted," Greene tweeted.
"Y’all have no idea how people truly feel about this. This is not good."
Greene went on to say how CNN talked about "Stormy Daniels being offended in court by Trump’s words."
Greene went on to write: "Stormy Daniels makes a living having sex on video, she’s a nasty pornographer. She’s not offended by anything at all.
"The American people are OFFENDED by all of this and everyone involved and they are MOST OFFENDED by people who sit on the sidelines and do NOTHING to stop it."
Two of Trump's top political rivals, other than the president, chimed on X after the guilty verdicts were declared Thursday evening.
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tweeted "This moment is a somber one for America. Trial by a jury of peers is a fundamental principle of democracy, which must be respected."
Meanwhile, current Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said "No one is above the law."
"The verdict speaks for itself," Schumer tweeted.
Biden campaign staffers in the Wilmington headquarters reportedly erupted in cheers as news of the verdict, which found former President Trump guilty on all counts , reached the public Thursday evening, ABC's White House correspondent Mary Bruce reported.
"Our team has heard that there were cheers inside the Biden headquarters in Wilmington as the verdict was read," Bruce said on-air moments after the jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records on all 34 charges, concluding his historic and unprecedented criminal trial.
Biden's 2024 re-election campaign wasted no time reacting to the unanimous guilty verdicts publicly, issuing a statement moments after the conviction claiming that "the threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater.
This is an excerpt of a story by Fox News Digital's Yael Halon. Click here to read the full report.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 30: Co-Founder, Vital Voices Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks on stage during Vital Voices 3rd Annual Global Festival on May 30, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership )
Former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday appeared to make a jab at former President Trump's guilty verdict in the Manhattan hush money trial.
Clinton spoke at 23rd Annual Global Leadership Awards for the Vital Voices Global Partnership, which she co-founded.
After taking the podium, Clinton quipped, “Thank you so much. Anything going on today?” seemingly referring to her GOP rival in the 2016 presidential election to whom she lost.
The remark elicited cheers from the audience.
Americans across the country reacted to the stunning conviction Thursday of Donald Trump in his landmark criminal trial in New York, as he became the first former U.S. president and presumptive major party nominee to be found guilty of a crime.
The verdict has potentially massive political and societal implications with the presidential election just over five months away, or it could be greeted with a shrug by the American public. Those who talked to Fox News Digital on Thursday offered a range of reactions, from outrage to indifference to glee that Trump had been convicted, as well as divergent predictions on how it would affect the 2024 election.
Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Daniels said she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 which the former president denies, and the jury found Trump falsified 34 business documents to conceal a hush money payment to Daniels before the 2016 election.
This is an excerpt of a story on former President Trump's guilty verdict. Click here to read the full report.
Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker weighed in on former President Trump's conviction in New York, saying the former president can add "felon" to his list of titles.
"Donald Trump is a racist, a homophobe, a grifter, and a threat to this country. He can now add more more title to his list - a felon," Pritzker said on X Thursday.
Former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all counts in New York v. Trump on Thursday, but his legal challenges are far from over, as he awaits scheduling of trials and a major Supreme Court decision to determine whether he’ll have to spend any more time in a courtroom during the 2024 election cycle.
The former president was found guilty on all counts in New York v. Trump Thursday afternoon. A sentencing hearing for the 34 criminal charges in the New York case is set for July 11.
Trump, speaking to reporters after the jury announced its verdict, said he will "fight to the end," and declared: "This is far from over."
The trial kept the former president of the United States confined to a Lower Manhattan courtroom and off the campaign trail for six weeks.
During the trial, Trump had pleaded with New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan to let him attend arguments at the Supreme Court on the issue of presidential immunity, and on whether he was immune from prosecution by Special Counsel Jack Smith in his 2020 election interference investigation.
Former President Donald Trump will jump right back into fundraising for his 2024 campaign despite his guilty conviction earlier Thursday.
Trump departed his New York City home to attend a fundraiser Thursday evening, a campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"We are already back to the mission," the spokesperson said. "President Trump won't let this sham stop the movement of this campaign to save the nation."
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg took a victory lap after former President Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 counts, saying his office "did our job."
"I did my job. Our job is to follow the facts and the law without fear or favor. And that's exactly what we did here. And what I feel is gratitude to work alongside phenomenal public servants who do that each and every day in matters that you all write about. … I did my job. We did our job. Many voices out there. The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury. And the jury has spoken," Bragg said Thursday evening.
Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The jury delivered their verdict late Thursday afternoon, finding Trump guilty on each count.
Following the guilty verdict on all counts against former President Donald Trump on Thursday, legal experts say that the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case will have "reversible problems" when appealed.
The former president and presumptive 2024 GOP nominee was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty, but 12 jurors found him guilty on all counts.
Sentencing is slated for July 11, four days before the Republican National Convention. Each count carries a maximum prison sentence of four years. In total, Trump faces a maximum sentence of 136 years behind bars.
But some legal experts say that the trial is "a target rich environment for appeal," which Trump is expected to do.
"I believe that the case will be reversed eventually either in the state or federal systems," Jonathan Turley, constitutional law attorney and Fox News contributor, said Thursday.
"However, this was the worst expectation for a trial in Manhattan," he said. "I had hoped that the jurors might redeem the integrity of a system that has been used for political purposes."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent candidate for president in 2024, took to social media to warn that former President Donald Trump's conviction could backfire on Democrats.
"The Democratic Party's strategy is to beat President Trump in the courtroom rather than the ballot box. This will backfire in November. Even worse, it is profoundly undemocratic," Kennedy said in a post on X. "America deserves a President who can win at the ballot box without compromising our government’s separation of powers or weaponizing the courts. You can’t save democracy by destroying it first."
The independent candidate added that Democrats "are afraid they will lose in the voting booth," causing them to use a trial instead.
"I’m also running against President Trump in this election. The difference is I’m challenging him on his record," he said.
Former President Trump told Fox News Digital his guilty verdict is a "scar" on the New York justice system, while vowing to "keep fighting" and maintaining that Election Day will be "the most important day in the history of our country."
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital shortly after the verdict, Trump said it is "a sad day for New York and a sad day for the country."
"The whole thing was rigged from day one — from the venue to the judge," he told Fox News Digital. "But I’ve never had support like this."
"We couldn’t get a fair trial," Trump told Fox News Digital. "It’s a sad day for New York and a sad day for the country."
The former president said "we have to think about how something like this could have happened to our country."
Click for more from Fox News' Brooke Singman.
New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said Thursday that the verdict reached by the jurors in NY v. Trump reaffirmed that "no one is above the law."
"Today's verdict reaffirms that no one is above the law. In preparation for a verdict in this trial, I directed my Administration to closely coordinate with local and federal law enforcement and we continue to monitor the situation," Hochul said in a statement.
"We are committed to protecting the safety of all New Yorkers and the integrity of our judicial system," she added.
A New York jury on Thursday found the 77-year-old former president guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The former president's sentencing hearing is set for July 11, which will come just four days before the Republican National Convention, which will take place from July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Bystanders outside the New York City courtroom where former President Donald Trump was convicted on all counts on Thursday evening reacted with a range of different reactions.
"Very disappointed, I wanted him to be acquitted," a male Trump supporter told Fox News Digital outside the courtroom.
"Just very sad. I wish this case had not been brought."
"It's about time for justice," another man said as he hugged a woman next to him who appeared to be celebrating the news that the former president is now a convicted felon.
The New York Republican Party said Thursday the verdict reached in former President Donald Trump's trial in New York was a "miscarriage of justice" that has the "Biden administration's fingerprints" all over it.
"This verdict is a miscarriage of justice more befitting a banana republic than the United States of America. It will ultimately be overturned at the Supreme Court," NYGOP Chair Ed Cox said in a statement.
"The Biden administration's fingerprints are all over this purely political prosecution," added Cox, the son-in-law of former President Richard Nixon. "We must redouble our efforts to elect President Trump and fight back against those who would wield the levers of justice against their political opponents."
A New York jury on Thursday found the 77-year-old former president guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The former president's sentencing hearing is set for July 11, which will come just four days before the Republican National Convention, which will take place from July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., blasted the guilty verdict against former President Donald Trump, calling it an "absolute injustice."
"This erodes our justice system," Scott, who is thought of as a potential Trump running mate, said on X, along with a video statement. "Hear me clearly: You cannot silence the American people. You cannot stop us from voting for change.
Joe Biden -- you're fired. We the People stand with Donald J. Trump."
(Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, is reacting to the guilty verdict against former President Donald Trump, denying that it was a "political or partisan process" and commending everyone involved.
"I think it does say something that this is happening in New York where he was born, where he is from, where he has operated," she said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Donald Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts, but jurors found him guilty.
AOC addressed the claims by Trump that it was a politically-motivated verdict.
"But Donald Trump was convicted by a jury of his peers. These jurors were folks that even his own legal team helped get through the initial screening process. This is our justice system. It is a justice system that, for the most part, does not administer justice equally to all people. Usually the poorest people and most marginalized people and often Black and Brown people experience miscarriages of justice, not just in New York but across the country," she said.
"He has the right to pursue his options, whatever they are. But this was not a political or partisan process. This is one of our legal justice system. And he tried to influence that through political intimidation and intimidating these judges. I commend everyone who participated, the jurors and the judges and not being intimidated in that process," she said.
Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik slammed the "weaponized justice system" following the verdict in the NY v. Trump trial that found former President Donald Trump guilty on all counts.
"Today’s verdict shows how corrupt, rigged, and unAmerican the weaponized justice system has become under Joe Biden and Democrats. I fully support President Trump appealing this decision and look forward to a higher New York Court to deliver justice and overturn this verdict. The facts are clear: this was a zombie case illegally brought forward by a corrupt prosecutor doing Joe Biden’s political bidding in a desperate attempt to save Joe Biden’s failing campaign," Stefanik said in comment provided to Fox News Digital on Thursday.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty.
The jury found Trump guilty on all counts late Thursday afternoon.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Emma Colton.
Congressional Democrats rejoiced on Thursday following a New York jury's guilty verdict against former President Donald Trump on charges of falsifying business records.
"In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law," said Biden campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler in a post-verdict statement.
"Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president," he explained, stressing the still-significant likelihood that Trump could win the November election.
But, according to Tyler, "The threat Trump posed to our democracy has never been greater."
Trump was found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in order to cover up payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
The verdict marks the first time any U.S. president has ever been convicted of a crime.
"Boom," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said in a brief post to X, formerly Twitter.
"Guilty. Today, 12 ordinary American citizens found a former president guilty of dozens of felonies. Despite his efforts to distract, delay, and deny – justice arrived for Donald Trump all the same. And the rule of law prevailed," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who is currently running for a Senate seat.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Julia Johnson.
Trump campaign website (screenshot)
Former President Donald Trump's campaign website was updated Thursday after he was found guilty on all counts in his New York trial.
Shared on the updated website was a message from Trump, who said he is a "political prisoner."
"I was just convicted in a RIGGED political Witch Hunt trial," he continued. "I DID NOTHING WRONG! They’ve raided my home, arrested me, took my mugshot, AND NOW THEY’VE JUST CONVICTED ME!"
"Crooked Joe Biden needs to get the message - right here, right now - that his chances of a 2nd term END TODAY," the former president added.
Trump called on his supporters through the updated website to donate to his campaign with "massive" and "immediate" pushback.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. A jury found him guilty on all counts.
"This is a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt," Trump said after the verdict.
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, left, and former President Donald Trump, right. (Getty Images)
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen told Fox News on Thursday that the verdict in the NY v. Trump case marked an "important day for accountability."
"Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law," Cohen said in a statement to Fox News' Eric Shawn.
"While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters. I want to thank my attorneys Danya Perry and Joshua Kolb for their invaluable guidance and support throughout this process," he added.
Cohen previously celebrated the conviction of former President Donald Trump in a post to X, writing, "Guilty On All Counts! #TeamCohen."
Cohen served as the prosecution's key witness in the New York trial.
Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts in his trial on Thursday.
The former president's sentencing hearing is set for July 11, which will come just four days before the Republican National Convention, which will take place from July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Former President Donald Trump, now a convicted felon, will be due back in Manhattan court in July for a sentencing hearing days before he is scheduled to be nominated as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.
A New York jury on Thursday found the 77-year-old former president guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Trump's sentencing hearing is set for July 11, which will come just four days before the Republican National Convention, which will take place from July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Trump campaign website (screenshot)
Former President Donald Trump's campaign website appears to have crashed after he was found guilty on all 34 counts in his New York trial Thursday.
The site now displays a 505 error message and states, "Something went wrong."
Trump vowed to continue fighting for the Constitution after he was found guilty on all counts in the unprecedented NY v. Trump case, adding the "real verdict" will be read on Election Day.
"This was a rigged, disgraceful trial. The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people," Trump said outside the court Thursday.
Former President Donald Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. took to X to rip his father's guilty verdict in the New York trial, slamming the decision in a series of posts.
"Such bullsh--t," Trump Jr. said in one post.
"Guilty on all counts. The Democrats have succeeded in their years long attempt to turn America into a third-world sh--hole. November 5 is our last chance to save it," he said in another.
"Sentencing is 4 days before the GOP Convention...They're not even trying to hide the ELECTION INTERFERENCE," he said in another.
The tweets come after the former president was found guilty on all 34 counts in his New York trial Thursday.
Former President Donald Trump returns to the courtroom during his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday, May 30, 2024 in New York. (Michael M. Santiago/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump vowed to continue fighting for the Constitution after he was found guilty on all counts in the unprecedented NY v. Trump case, adding the "real verdict" will be read on Election Day.
"This was a rigged, disgraceful trial. The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people," Trump said outside the court Thursday.
"This was a rigged decision right from day one. With a conflicted judge who should have never been allowed to try this case. Never. And we will fight for our Constitution. This is long from over."
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty in the case.
The jury found Trump guilty on all counts late Thursday afternoon.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Emma Colton.
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who served as the prosecution's key witness in the New York trial, struck a celebratory tone on social media following the verdict.
"Guilty On All Counts! #TeamCohen," Cohen said on X.
Former President Donald Trump on Thursday slammed what he said was a "rigged trial" and promised to fight on after a jury found him guilty on all counts.
"This is a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt," Trump said after the verdict.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Donald Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. A jury found him guilty on all counts.
"This was a rigged disgraceful trial, but the real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people and they know what happened here and everyone knows what happened here," he said.
He blamed the Biden administration for the trial, who he accused of trying to hurt a political opponent.
"We'll fight to the end and we'll win because our country has gone to hell."
A Manhattan jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on all counts in his New York criminal trial.
A guilty verdict in the historic case will have far-reaching consequences for the 2024 presidential election and upend criminal case law in New York, legal experts told Fox News Digital before the verdict was reached.
"It seems this is an all-or-nothing case, assuming arguendo there is a verdict and not a hung jury," said Trey Gowdy, "Sunday Night in America" host and a former federal prosecutor.
“In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law," the Biden-Harris campaign said in a statement Thursday following Trump's conviction.
“Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.
“The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution, pledging to be a dictator ‘on day one’ and calling for our Constitution to be ‘terminated’ so he can regain and keep power. A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November.”
(Photo by Justin Lane-Pool/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump's conviction in his historic trial in New York City is thrusting his 2024 election rematch with President Biden into unchartered grounds.
Trump, who was the first former or current president to stand trial in a criminal case, has now become the first major party nominee to run for the White House as a convicted felon.
And the verdict of guilty on all 34 counts could immediately impact the trajectory of the presidential race, where Trump currently holds the slight edge both in national polling and in public opinion surveys in most of the crucial battleground states that will likely decide the election.
"If Donald Trump is a convicted felon going into the November election, that has to mean something to the small number of undecided voters in the six battleground states that will decide the election," seasoned Democratic strategist Chris Moyer told Fox News.
Longtime Republican consultant Colin Reed acknowledged that it's "never a good thing to be convicted, in life or politics, of a crime."
Read more from Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser.
Sentencing in NY v. Trump was set for July 11 after former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts Thursday.
The sentencing will come just four days before the Republican National Convention, which is slated to take place from July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg took to social media to announce the conviction of former President Donald Trump Tuesday.
"Today, a jury found Donald J. Trump GUILTY on ALL 34 felony counts," Bragg said in a post on X shortly after the verdict was announced.
Trump was convicted on all 34 counts on Thursday.
Speaker Mike Johnson slammed an "absurd verdict" after former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all counts.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Donald Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
Johnson decried a "shameful day in American history."
"Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon. This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one.
The weaponization of our justice system has been a hallmark of the Biden Administration, and the decision today is further evidence that Democrats will stop at nothing to silence dissent and crush their political opponents.
The American people see this as lawfare, and they know it is wrong—and dangerous. President Trump will rightfully appeal this absurd verdict—and he WILL WIN!"
The jury in New York v. Trump found former President Trump guilty of charges brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Donald Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Each count carries a maximum prison sentence of 4 years.
The New York jury empaneled in the NY v. Trump case has reached a verdict. The jury will soon enter the courtroom and announce what it has decided.Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged former President Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Judge Juan Merchan will invite the jury in to read its verdict.Prior to receiving the jury's note around 4:20 p.m., Merchan had indicated he would excuse the jury for the day at 4:30.
Prosecutors needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic performer, in the lead-up to the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, was the prosecution’s “star witness.”He testified that he personally made the $130,000 payment to Daniels using a home equity line of credit in an effort to conceal the payment from his wife.
Cohen said he did this because Trump told him to “handle it” and prevent a negative story from coming out ahead of the election.But Trump’s defense attorneys maintained that the president never directed Cohen to do so.
It is important not to overplay the fact that the jury is electing not to stay until 6. The judge had left it up to them. If they wanted to go longer, it would not bode well for Trump. It clearly shows that they are not in striking distance of a verdict, though that can mean many things including a reflection of the large number of counts.
As someone who believed that Friday was the most likely day for a verdict this week, this is not surprising and could still end in either a hung jury or conviction in my view. It could even go over to next week. I enjoy tea leaf readings as much as the next analyst but you need some tea in the cup.
Keep in mind that the jury was clearly not in agreement on the standards to be applied on such issues as inferences and may have differed on what they heard from Pecker and Cohen. After the read back on the instructions and transcript, they had to restart their deliberations with whatever clarity that court session provided to them.
-- Jonathan Turley, constitutional law attorney and FNC contributor
Judge Merchan took the bench to announce that he is excusing the jury at 4:30 P.M., meaning deliberation on a verdict will stretch into its third day Friday.
Getty Images
In a post on his social media site, Truth Social, former president Donald Trump said Judge Juan Merchan prevented him from presenting certain evidence in court"
"Not only did this HIGHLY CONFLICTED, BIASED Judge, Juan Merchan, prevent me from presenting the fact that I did not take a Tax Deduction on the Legal Expense (which was marked, correctly, as a Legal Expense), the Judge also did not allow my lawyers to get Tax Records from the former attorney, whose name I am not allowed to mention due to the UnConstitutional Gag Order imposed upon me. ELECTION INTERFERENCE! WITCH HUNT!"
The former president made the comments as the jury entered the 11th hour of deliberations in the case against him, N.Y. v. Trump.
Former Trump payroll corporation attorney William J Brennan joined "America Reports" on Thursday to provide his analysis of NY v. Trump jury deliberations, saying it's better for the defense the longer it takes jurors to deliberate.
"They're certainly working back there," Brennan said of the 12 jurors. "That buzzer could ring 20 more times with questions, it could in five minutes with a verdict. You just don't know. It's like waiting for a baby."
"Shockingly, these payments to these three individuals on their face are not illegal," he continued. "They have to show two things. They have to show there was malfeasance in the record keeping in the notations as to what the money was spent for. And then to make that huge leap to felony land, they have to show it was with the intent, not just the motive, but the intent to commit another crime -- election fraud, election finance."
He added, "I think, for what it's worth, the longer that jury is out the better it bodes for the defense."
For those following along, lunch is over and we are back in the courtroom and overflow room. It's very quiet in here. We are wondering if today's deliberations will end at 430 pm or 6 pm since the judge gave the jurors the option to work late - no update on that yet.
No updates. No notes. Very quiet. As I stare at the walls of the overflow room, I feel like we are going to end up going to 6 but I have nothing to base that on other than emotion.
-- Kerri Urbahn, Fox News legal editor
Former President Donald Trump took aim at Judge Juan Merchan Thursday, arguing that the instructions he gave the jury were "unfair" and "confusing."
"The Jury Instructions given by HIGHLY CONFLICTED Judge, Juan Merchan, were UNFAIR, MISLEADING, INACCURATE, AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL," Trump said on Truth Social. "They were also VERY CONFUSING (Just what the Judge wanted!), BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CRIME!"
The remarks come as Trump continues to sit in the courtroom while jury deliberations continued Thursday, the second day jurors have had to consider the evidence in NY v. Trump.
NEW YORK – Protests grew heated Wednesday outside the New York City courtroom where former President Trump's trial is taking place.
A group of protesters gathered in support of Trump appeared to surround protesters backing his possible conviction in the case, forcing police to intervene and separate the two groups, video footage shot by Fox News Digital shows.
President Biden's re-election campaign scolded MSNBC and CNN on Wednesday for ignoring a "Black Voters for Biden-Harris" rally in Philadelphia because they were too busy covering the historic New York v. Trump trial.
During a rally that occurred during the first day of jury deliberations in former President Trump's New York criminal trial, Biden promised to nominate progressives to the Supreme Court if he wins a second term. While Trump's historic trial has dominated the news cycle for weeks, at least one Biden campaign staffer felt MSNBC and CNN should have cut away to show the current president’s remarks.
"The President just spoke to approx 1,000 mostly Black voters in Philly about the massive stakes in this election. @MSNBC @CNN & others did not show it. Instead, more coverage about a trial that impacts one person: Trump," Biden campaign spokesperson TJ Ducklo posted on X.
I am back in the courtroom where all is quiet. The judge indicated that he would like to go to 6, which would leave roughly 3 hours and 20 minutes. The requested sections of the instructions did not materially advance any understanding of conflicts, though one clearly led to the request for the readback.
-- Jonathan Turley, constitutional law attorney and FNC contributor
Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Michael Whatley broke down the impact of former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial on his 2024 campaign during an appearance on Fox News Channel.
"Every single day that he has been in court, we have been winning on the campaign," Whatley said. "We have raised more money than Joe Biden while he's there. A million dollars a day is coming in online while people are watching this trial and are outraged by it."
Whatley added that Trump continues to go up in the polls and insisted that Americans "know this is the weaponization of the judiciary."
"It's just the latest example we've seen where we have Democrat activists who are prosecutors, who are attorney generals, who are going after President Trump and his allies all across the country," he said. "We have got a job to do with the campaign and make sure the American people understand the major differences between Donald Trump and Joe Biden -- we have records for that."
Asked whether the trial hurts Trump the longer it lasts, Whatley said, "Well, I think it changes the way that we have to campaign."
Despite the trial, Whatley said Trump will continue talking "directly" with Americans, whether it be at a New York City bodega or political rallies.
Due to the trial's strict schedule, which only frees up the former president on the weekends and most Wednesdays, Whatley said they have been "making the most of all our Wednesdays, all of our Saturdays."
Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss the future implications of having a ‘flimsy’ case against the former president.
"The very weakness and the flaws in this case open up the door for any DA in the future to sue presidents on the flimsiest of charges," Yoo said. "If you're going to prosecute a president, it has to be for something serious, dangerous to the national interest, and all the witnesses and the law ought to be air tight."
Yoo argued that in the current NY v. Trump trial, observers still are unsure of what law Trump has broken.
"This case, convict or acquit, open the door to all kinds of harassment of future presidents... which makes all of us worse off," Yoo said.
Fox News Channel's Shannon Bream, the anchor of "FOX News Sunday." (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump's legal team may have grounds to file some type of emergency filing with the Supreme Court, according to Fox News Channel's Shannon Bream.
The Supreme Court rarely gets involved with state cases, but the options jurors have to pick from in deciding the case of NY v. Trump "provides a POSSIBLE path for some type of emergency filing with the Supreme Court," Bream said Thursday.
Fox News legal editor Kerri Kupec Urbahn pointed out that "It is remarkable a tax crime could be one of the options the jury has to pick from given we sat here for weeks and heard almost nothing about it."
"I don’t see how that’s not a due process violation on its face," Urbahn noted. The "smorgasbord approach" offered to the jury for finding that Trump committed an underlying crime, plus the "vague NY election law at play in this case (similar to vague law at play in the Trump civil fraud trial), really makes you question what kind of chance you have in the NY legal system if the DA’s office is out to get you," Urbahn said.
"If the Trump team can articulate some federal/constitutional claims arising out of what’s happened here, it’s likely worth a shot for the Trump team to try. If not, they really haven’t lost much," added Bream, the anchor of "Fox News Sunday."
The jury began its second day of deliberation just before 11:30 A.M., with the jury spending the bulk of the morning rehearing both judge instructions and specific testimony jurors had requested.
A new national poll is the latest to indicate that regardless of whether former President Trump is found guilty or acquitted in his criminal trial, the verdict will not have a large impact on voters' perceptions in his 2024 election rematch with President Biden.
Two-thirds of registered voters nationwide questioned in a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll released on Thursday said a guilty verdict in the trial would make no difference to their vote in the presidential election. Seventeen percent said a conviction of Trump would make them less likely to vote for him and 15% said they'd be more inclined to support the former president at the ballot box.
If Trump is acquitted, three-quarters of those surveyed said it wouldn't impact their vote. Fourteen percent said a not guilty verdict would make them more likely to back Trump, and 9% said they'd be less likely to vote for the former president.
Read more from Fox News' Paul Steinhauser.
Former President Donald Trump was able to get a TV sent to his courthouse waiting room, a campaign source told Fox News Digital.
Trump is passing the time watching TV as the jury continues deliberating for the second day, something he wasn't able to do on the first day of deliberation.
The jury began its second day of deliberation just before 11:30 A.M., with the jury spending the bulk of the morning rehearing both judge instructions and specific testimony jurors had requested.
Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to claim that the testimony shows that he did nothing wrong.
"Testimony conclusively showed that I clearly stated, 'I DON’T BUY STORIES!' — Not that there would be anything wrong with doing that — NDA’s are PERFECTLY LEGAL AND COMMON!" Trump said.
The comments come as jurors began their second day of deliberation after spending much of the morning rehearing testimony and instructions from the judge.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024, in New York City. (Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to blast the trial against him, arguing he did nothing wrong.
"Can anybody believe that our Government would be spending Tens of Millions of Taxpayer Dollars on prosecuting this RIDICULOUS Case? I DID NOTHING WRONG! IN FACT, I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT. The testimony in Court was amazing for the Defense!" Trump said.
The social media post comes after jurors spent the morning hearing a reread of portions of Judge Merchan's instructions and some select testimony before being sent to resume deliberations.
Overall, I thought that the testimony helped both sides. The Trump Tower meeting did not deal with Stormy Daniels and was only around 20-25 minutes in enlisting the help of the publication. It was a general discussion in seeking the support of Pecker who said that it was in the interests of the magazine to continue to run positive stories while also avoiding negative stories.
-- Jonathan Turley, constitutional law attorney and Fox News contributor
At 11:15 a.m Thursday the readback of Michael Cohen's testimony concluded. The jury indicated they are content with what was read back and has been sent back to deliberate.
The jury also asked for both headphones and speakers to review evidence.
Side note: The read back of this testimony is a bit like a dramatic reading. The two court reporters who are reading the testimony are going back and forth, each taking on a different person, with energy. Have to give them credit for trying to make this interesting - much easier to be engaged with this vs Merchan's reading of instructions.
-- Kerri Urbahn, Fox News legal editor
MRC NewsBusters studied morning, evening and Sunday news shows on ABC, CBS and NBC since the start of jury selection on April 14. (Courtesy of Media Research Center)
FIRST ON FOX: As the NY v. Trump court case wraps up, the former president and presumptive GOP nominee’s Democratic opponents have already received a "massive media bonus" from ABC, NBC and CBS, according to the Media Research Center.
MRC NewsBusters studied morning, evening and Sunday news shows on ABC, CBS and NBC since the start of jury selection on April 14.
Among the key findings was that in the over 640 minutes of total trial coverage across the three networks, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was rarely identified as a partisan Democrat.
"These numbers show not only a liberal media bias, but basic journalistic ineptitude. In any story, you want to answer the basics – who, what, where, when, why, and how – so to leave out Alvin Bragg’s partisan affiliation or that he campaigned in part on bringing down Trump is shoddy at best and deceptive at its worst," NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck told Fox News Digital.
Houck said the data proves the networks simply want to hurt Trump "fundamental facts be damned," and "no matter how overwhelmingly voluminous their coverage gets."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Brian Flood.
Jury now hearing Pecker's testimony of when he received a call from Donald Trump. He said that Trump told him that Karen "is a nice girl" and that he heard that there was a group trying to buy McDougal's story and asked what Pecker thought he should do. Pecker recommended buying the story. Pecker said that he believed that the story would be embarrassing "both to himself and to his campaign." That is an interesting passage because it shows a dual interest in avoiding such stories. Pecker also testified that he previously killed stories for Trump (before he ran for office) and did so for a number of other celebrities.
Another snippet of testimony is from the direct examination of Pecker by Steinglass on the agreement that was not executed. Pecker testified that he no longer wanted to be reimbursed for the money paid to McDougal in speaking with Cohen. He said that he was not going forward and wanted to "rip up the agreement." He said Cohen was "screaming" at him and said that "I am the lawyer...and can't understand why he is concerned."
The jury then heard a snippet from Pecker when the same phone call came in while Pecker was at an investor's meeting. This second recollection included that Trump said "I normally do not buy stories because they always come out." That is the second such observation from Trump. Pecker pushed that they should purchase it.
-- Jonathan Turley, constitutional law attorney and Fox News contributor
Former President Donald Trump said prosecutors in the costly and unprecedented NY v. Trump trial are "proving" his point that the legal system is weaponized against him.
"'This is becoming a three-card Monte game on: Where is the crime?' Smart guy. Where's the crime?" Trump said Thursday outside the Manhattan courtroom, reading insight from Fox News contributor and legal scholar Jonathan Turley before reading excerpts from other experts. "Mike Davis: 'The U.S. would sanction a country for doing this.' I think that's good. I think that's good. Steve Hilton: 'It seems that every single day these proceedings go on, the judge or the prosecutor just go out of their way to prove Trump's point.'"
Trump added after reading the excerpt: "…They are proving my point when you think. That's why I write some of these things that are very sad."
Trump has continually slammed the case as a "sham" and that presiding Judge Juan Merchan is "corrupt" and "conflicted," appearing to refer to the judge's familial ties to the Democratic Party. Trump has also lambasted the case as "lawfare" promoted by the Biden administration to hurt his chances of succeeding in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump is back in court Thursday as the jury continues deliberations regarding whether Trump is guilty of falsifying 34 business records. Prosecutors worked to prove that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Emma Colton
Judge Merchan finished rereading instructions just before 10:30 A.M. Tuesday, with proceedings now moving to the jurors requests to rehear testimony.
Court reporters then began reading back testimony, starting with David Pecker’s testimony about a call with Trump at an investor’s meeting in New Jersey.
Notably, the instructions include a warning that, while Pecker's non-prosecution agreement on election violations, may not be used to infer guilt by Trump. The same is true about barring any inference from Cohen's plea which is to be used solely for credibility and to establish the context of the facts. This is a good thing for the defense to have reread to the jury. Again, it is not clear if that is an issue that led to the inference readback request. He is now getting into discounting testimony. He is again instructing that the jury can discharge the entirety of the testimony of a witness who has lied previously or in the testimony.
-- Fox News contributor and GWU professor Jonathan Turley
As Judge Merchan re-read the instructions requested by jurors, a few of the jurors could be seen nodding their heads at times.
As Merchan read about Michael Cohen's guilty plea for FECA violations, two fmeale jurors in the back row could bee seen intently watching the judge.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump appeared turned slight toward the jury sitting back in his chair, relaxed.
There were no visible reactions from the jury when Merchan said that they cannot take into account that Trump did not testify or when Merchan discussed reasonable doubt.
Judge Juan Merchan delivered sections of the jury instructions to jurors once again on Thursday after a series of jury notes came through.
Jurors sought clarification on the extent to which they could make inferences based on witness testimony. The jurors cannot have a copy of the jury instructions inside their chambers, meaning they must send notes to Merchan requesting clarifications.
There is no timeline for the jury deliberations, and they are currently in their second day.
Former President Trump blasted the trial as "ridiculous" as he entered the courtroom this morning.
REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
Judge Juan Merchan welcomed jurors back to the courtroom Thursday and reread their two notes from yesterday.
Merchan told the jury they have located the testimony that was requested Wednesday evening and are ready to reread it.
Asked by Merchan whether the jurors wanted the instructions or the testimony first, the foreperson said, “The instructions.”
Merchan began rereading the instructions. Instructions will be read from pages 6-35.
Judge Merchan retook the bench a little after 9:30 and greeted all the parties, including former President Donald Trump.
The judge determined all of the testimony that was requested Tuesday would come in, with the prosecution and defense arguing how much should be read from the transcript. Merchan has erred on the side of including more, granting a subsequent jury request for more testimony.
Fifty-five pages of instructions in total will also be read, about half of the original instructions.
The jury is asking for instructions on count one and how to deal with evidence and the inference to be drawn from evidence. He will read pages 7-35.
The inference instructions are interesting. It is not the corroboration or perjury material that would have presumably focused on Cohen. However, the inference sections would go to how much that can read into the implications of testimony. Much of Cohen's testimony did not concretely establish knowledge or intent by Trump but the prosecutors insisted that they could infer from that evidence.
The focus on the inferential instructions is good news in my view for the prosecutors in comparison to a question for the corroboration or false testimony sections. It may indicate that there was some uncertainty or division on how much of a negative inference can be drawn from these accounts in establishing intent and knowledge on the part of Trump.
Of course, this all makes tea leaf readings look like a precise science...
--Fox News contributor and GWU professor Jonathan Turley
Trump is in the courtroom. Waiting for the judge. Will soon know if the jury wants a particular instruction or instructions read back. Frankly, it is nuts in my view that the jury is not given the instructions and must have them read back to them. It serves no positive or productive purpose.
--Fox News contributor and GWU professor Jonathan Turley
Nuts.
--Fox News legal editor Kerri Kupec
Former President Trump arrived to the Manhattan courthouse to attend the second day of jury deliberations in his New York criminal trial Thursday morning.
Judge Juan Merchan has required Trump and his legal team to attend the proceedings so they can hear any notes from the jury during their deliberations.
"Here we go again," Trump told reporters outside the courtroom. "I haven't seen a single legal scholar who thinks this case should have been brought."
He then cited a series of sources who argued Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's case against him is "ridiculous." The sources included Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett, the Wall Street Journal as well as analysts from CNN and MSNBC.
The former president went on to tout an NPR poll showing him ahead of President Biden among independents.
"54 to 42. That's among independents. That's the best we've ever done, the poll says, among independents," he said.
Filmmaker Oliver Stone said President Trump is facing “lawfare” as he faces trial in New York City over allegedly falsifying business records.
Stone is an Oscar Award-winning film director behind movies such as “The Doors,” “Natural Born Killers,” and “Born on the Fourth of July.” He has historically held left-wing political views, including repeatedly condemning former President George W. Bush for his handling of 9/11, voting for former President Barack Obama in 2008 and President Biden in 2020.
He also even compared Trump to “Beelzebub” in 2018, whiich is another name for the devil.
Amid Trump’s trial, however, Stone argued that the 45th president is facing “lawfare” from his political opponents. Lawfare is a legal term for the use and politicization of the justice system to hurt a political opponent.
"It’s a new form of warfare. It’s called lawfare," Stone said earlier this month. "And that’s what they’re using against Trump."
Last year, Stone said he "made a mistake" when he voted for Biden in 2020, arguing it appears he may not be “ in charge of his own administration.”
Trump has pleaded not guilty in the NY v. Trump case. Closing arguments are anticipated to kick off Tuesday, following Memorial Day, with jury deliberations beginning Wednesday.
The most telling moment today could come with the jury's response to a question from the judge. At the end of the day yesterday, Judge Merchan asked the jury to tell him if they want the entirety of the jury instructions to be read or just a part of the instructions. My reaction from the notes last night was that the most intriguing possibility is that the jury decided to address the elephant in the room: Michael Cohen. A juror may have raised if the entirety of his testimony should be disregarded since the judge said that, if Cohen lied on any material point, the entirety of his testimony could be disregarded. Some may have objected that they are not required to do so and that the judge said that they should look for corroboration. It is actually to different issues. Corroboration goes to the fact that Cohen must be treated as an accomplice and must be corroborated to be given weight. The perjury rule goes to that fact that lying to any part poisons every part of a witness's testimony. If Cohen was the threshold issue, they would likely want to hear the instructions on false testimony and corroboration as well as the Trump Tower testimony which was cited as corroboration by the government. If Merchan comes back and identifies those areas of the instructions, it would seem likely that this could all be about Cohen.
--Fox News contributor and GWU Professor Jonathan Turley
Actor and former Hell’s Angel Chuck Zito told Fox News’ Jesse Watters that former President Donald Trump is a “trooper” and that nothing fazes him after attending his trial earlier this week.
“I would always support former President Trump but we know each other for 40 years,” Zito said. “He's the greatest president of my lifetime. I'll tell you that…
“He's doing it for the American people in America, not for himself. He wants to make this country great again,” Zito added. “But I'll tell you, he's a trooper, man. He's…nothing fazes him.”
Zito shared that he had lunch with the former president during his trial earlier last week, and that the president lamented he was stuck attending the trial and not out campaigning.
“I thought I was a tough guy. This guy's a savage, man,” Zito said of Trump.
The former top prosecutor for the Mueller investigation, said on Wednesday that he deeply admires the judge overseeing former President Trump's hush money trial in New York City.
"As you noted with respect to Judge Merchan, I mean-I am like now, you know, I have like a ‘man crush’ on him," MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann said. "He is such a great judge that it’s hard to see that the jurors wouldn’t have the same impression."
Weissman continued to lay praise on Judge Juan Merchan.
"If you looked in a dictionary for judicial temperament, that’s what you would get, and just remember, he has had to put up with the defendant who committed 10 acts of contempt, he’s threatened not just him, but his family, and in spite of that, you would not know for a second that that is in any way weighing on him, because it is just such an impeccably fair trial," he said.
The jury went into deliberations on Wednesday after Merchan gave them instructions on the case. Trump is being charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Andrea Mitchell summarized on behalf of NBC News’ Laura Jarett, who was in the courtroom, that the judge has a very calm effect where he communicates "very calmly and slowly and deliberately," even when chiding the defense or prosecution.
"Right. I really wish for that reason that at least there was an audio," Weissmann said.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Alexander Hall
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik filed an ethics complaint against Judge Juan Merchan, alleging the judge overseeing former President Trump's trial could have a conflict of interest when it comes to his daughter's role at a firm that represents Democratic politicians.
Merchan’s daughter serves as the president of Authentic Campaigns, while Stefanik noted in the complaint that the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct "privately cautioned him in July over his illegal political donations to Biden and Democrats in 2020."
Stefanik further argued that Merchan should recuse himself from the trial, noting a "clear conflict of interest, based upon his adult daughter’s financial state in this unprecedented criminal trial, has badly damaged the court’s appearance of impartiality."
"I request that you investigate his conduct and impose whatever discipline is required," Stefanik said.
The jury began deliberations in former President Trump's New York criminal trial just before noon on Wednesday after a long day in court on Tuesday, when they heard closing arguments from the defense team and a lengthy one from the District Attorney's Office.
Jurors could deliver a verdict as soon as Wednesday afternoon, or it could take several days of deliberation before a consensus is reached among the New Yorkers deciding on the case.
Trump addressed the media Wednesday, vowing that he will win the 2024 race for the White House, while slamming the case as one "Mother Teresa could not beat."
Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report
Trump supporters, who gathered outside the New York City courtroom on Wednesday where the former president is facing criminal charges, rallied in support of him and sounded off on the "judicial lynching" they say he is facing with the trial.
"I love Trump and I love what he did for me and my people, Black people, he really helped us out," a Black New Yorker wearing a Trump hat told Fox News Digital. "What they doing right now is really ridiculous, these court cases and everything that they doing towards him…they trying to stop the momentum from winning the election."
"It ain't happening man, we f--- with Trump, Black people we really with Trump."
The man went on to dismiss the idea that the Biden administration is defending "Black America."
"Biden ain't for no Black America," the man continued. "I lost everything since Biden been in, I had a whole limousine business, I had a whole car business selling cars, buying and selling cars, that all went down the drain when Biden got in. I had to go now sleep in the God d--- car. I don't get a free hotel like immigrants get."
"We gotta get them outta there," the man, who identified himself as being from New York, said about politicians who say there is "no place for Trump in New York."
"They don't do nothing for us, AOC don't do nothing for us," he added.
"This is a judicial lynching, he did nothing wrong," a white man wearing a "Gays for Trump" shirt told Fox News Digital on Wednesday afternoon. "He will be found innocent, even if he isn't and he's railroaded by the Democratic Marxist party, I will vote for him regardless of the outcome."
Joshua Steinglass is the leading prosecutor who delivered the extensive closing argument in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial. In his nearly 5-hour closing statements, Steinglass said Trump’s intent to defraud "could not be any clearer," arguing that it would have been far easier for him to pay Stormy Daniels directly.
Instead, the prosecutor said, he concocted an elaborate scheme and everything he and his cohorts did was "cloaked in lies."
"The name of the game was concealment and all roads lead inescapably to the man who benefited the most: the defendant, former President Donald Trump," Steinglass said.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Brooke Singman
A New York jury will continue deliberations for a second day Thursday in the historic and unprecedented criminal trial of former President Trump.
Judge Juan Merchan delivered jurors instructions to consider charges brought against the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Merchan on Wednesday afternoon instructed the jury not to discuss or research the case.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Court resumes at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
During deliberations Wednesday, the jury sent two notes to the judge, including a request to hear his instructions again about how to consider evidence.
The jury also asked to hear testimony again from former American Media, Inc. CEO David Pecker and ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
Merchan said the court was still looking to locate the requested testimony. Merchan estimated it would take approximately 30 minutes to read back.
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