Former U.S. President Trump’s hush money case entered its second day of jury deliberations on Thursday. During the first day of deliberations on Wednesday, the 12 New York jurors spent about four and a half hours discussing but did not reach a swift verdict. The 77-year-old Trump is accused of falsifying business records in 2016 to cover up a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump.
The prosecution argues that the payment, made through Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, should not be classified as legal fees, suggesting that Trump attempted to illegally influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied any involvement with Daniels.
Before the start of the jury deliberations on Thursday, Trump made a statement outside the Manhattan courthouse, expressing, “It’s a very sad day for America. The whole world is watching. The entire (justice) system is being manipulated,” he added.
The closed-door deliberations of the jury brought a sense of quiet to the courtroom, with both sides’ lawyers maintaining mostly silence. The only movement on Wednesday was the two notes the jury handed to Judge Juan Merchan. Firstly, the jury requested a review of testimonies on several key moments in the trial, all related to allegations of a conspiracy involving Trump, his former lawyer Cohen, and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker to disrupt the 2016 election.
Secondly, the jury asked to reread the instructions the judge had given before they began deliberations on the first day. Judge Merchan is expected to respond to these notes on Thursday morning.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers spent over two hours on Wednesday arguing over which excerpts of testimony were relevant to the jurors’ requests in the first memorandum. Like all criminal cases, the jury’s deliberations are done behind closed doors, with no one outside the jury room to know the New York jurors’ current stance on Trump’s guilt or innocence.
Therefore, trial observers can only try to gather any clues about the jurors’ leanings from the wording of their notes and the frequency of their letters to the judge to speculate on the case’s progress. This case also serves as a valuable civic education opportunity for the public to familiarize themselves with the judicial process and decide whether to restore or further deteriorate confidence in the justice system.
Any verdict would require a unanimous agreement among the 12 jurors. If they cannot resolve their differences, the judge will declare a mistrial. Prior to jury selection, Judge Merchan decided not to disclose the jurors’ information to protect them from harassment.
Trump’s lawyers, prosecutors, and the judge posed a series of questions to potential jurors to assess if there were any underlying biases. Here is some basic public non-identity information the selected jurors shared in April:
– Gender: Male
– Occupation: Sales
– Origin: Ireland
– News Sources: New York Times, Fox News, MSNBC
– Hobbies: Outdoor activities
– Opinion on Trump: “I may not agree with some of his policies, but some are good for America.”
And so on for the other selected jury members with brief descriptions of their gender, occupation, origin, news sources they follow, hobbies, and their views on Trump.
Trump is facing 34 felony charges, and if convicted, he could face up to four years in prison, though first-time offenders of such crimes are unlikely to be imprisoned and would only face fines or probation. In other words, even if convicted, it would not affect Trump’s candidacy for the November 5 election. If he wins, it would not prevent him from taking office.
However, this verdict could still impact the outcome of the U.S. election. Polls show a close competition between Trump and Biden in key states that could determine the election result. According to survey results from various sources, a guilty verdict might cause Trump to lose some voter support.
If found not guilty, it would mean Trump has overcome a legal hurdle, avoiding the need to juggle court appearances and campaign events. If found guilty, he is expected to appeal. The other three criminal cases against Trump are not expected to go to trial before the November election.