Trump hush money trial: Jury resumes deliberations

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s hush money lawsuit The House is set to resume deliberations Thursday, demanding to hear again crucial testimony about the hush-money allegations at the heart of the history-making case.

The 12-person jury deliberated for about four and a half hours Wednesday but failed to reach a verdict.

In addition to asking for the evidence to be reheard, Tabloid publisher and Former lawyer and personal advisor to President TrumpJurors also asked to review at least parts of the judge’s hour-long explanation of the law.

It is unclear how long deliberations will last. A guilty verdict would be a shocking legal outcome for Trump, who is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee seeking to retake the White House, while an acquittal would be a major victory for him and a boost to his campaign. A verdict must be unanimous, so if the jury cannot reach an agreement after several days of deliberations, a mistrial could occur.

Leaving the courtroom after the jury instructions were read, Trump struck a pessimistic tone, repeating his claim of a “very unfair trial”, saying: “Mother Teresa couldn’t have overturned that charge, but we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens.”

He remained in the courtroom during deliberations, posting grievances about the trial on social media and citing legal and political commentators who favored the case. He did not testify in his own defense, but the judge told the jury that fact could not be taken into account.

Trump is facing 34 charges of falsifying his company’s business records in connection with an alleged scheme to conceal embarrassing information about him during his 2016 Republican presidential campaign.

This charge is a felony; Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen After he paid $130,000 in hush money Porn actor Stormy Daniels Cohen tried to cover up the affair to silence her allegations that she had sex with Trump in 2006. Trump is accused of falsely reporting payments to Cohen as legal expenses to hide their connection to the hush money payment.

Trump has pleaded not guilty and says his payments to Cohen were for legitimate legal services, and denies allegations of extramarital sex with Daniels.

To convict Trump, a jury would have to unanimously find that Trump made false entries in company records or had someone else do so, and that Trump did so Intent to commit or conceal another crime.

Prosecutors allege that Trump’s actions, or his cover-up, violated New York state election law, which makes it a crime for two or more people to conspire “by unlawful means to advance or obstruct the election of any person to public office.”

Jurors must unanimously agree that illegal conduct occurred to further Trump’s campaign, but they do not have to be unanimous on what that illegal conduct was.

The jury, a diverse cross-section of Manhattan residents and professional backgrounds, appeared riveted by testimony at the trial, including from Cohen and Daniels, with many taking notes and watching intently as witnesses answered questions from Manhattan prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers.

Jurors began deliberations after a marathon closing argument in which prosecutors argued for more than five hours, highlighting the pressure the district attorney’s office faces to prove Trump’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Trump campaign does not have to prove his innocence to avoid a conviction, but instead must hope that at least one juror decides that the prosecution did not prove enough of its case.

In their first contact with the court, jurors asked to hear testimony from Cohen and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker again. About the August 2015 meeting Meeting with Trump at Trump Tower, the tabloid chief agreed to be the “eyes and ears” for Trump’s budding presidential campaign.

Pecker testified that the plan also included identifying stories that could be damaging to Trump and quashing them before they were published — the beginning of the “catch-and-kill” scheme at the heart of the case, prosecutors said.

Jurors also want to hear from Pecker about a phone call he allegedly received from Trump in which he discussed rumors that another media outlet had offered to buy former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Rumor has it that she was having an affair for a year. She had an affair with Trump in the mid-2000s, which Trump denies.

“Karen is a good girl,” Mr Pecker said, and asked, “What do you think we should do?” Mr Trump responded, “I think we should buy the story and take it off the market,” he said. Mr Trump said he wouldn’t buy it because it would inevitably leak, adding that Mr Cohen would be in touch.

The publisher said the conversations led him to believe Trump knew the details of McDougal’s allegations. Pecker said he believed the story was true and that it would have been embarrassing for Trump and his campaign if it had been made public.

American Media, the parent company of the National Enquirer, ultimately paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to the story, and the deal also included writing and other opportunities in the company’s fitness magazine and other publications.

The fourth item requested by the jury is testimony about Pecker’s decision in October 2016 to back out of an agreement to sell the rights to McDougal’s articles to Trump through a company Cohen set up for the transaction — a so-called “rights assignment.”

“I called Michael Cohen and told him the deal, the assignment deal, was terminated. I’m not going forward. It’s a bad idea. I want the deal terminated,” Pecker testified. “He was very angry. He was very upset. He was basically screaming at me.”

Pecker testified that he reiterated to Cohen that he did not intend to move forward with the deal.

“Your boss is going to be very angry with you,” Cohen reportedly told him.

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Former President Donald Trump, according to the Associated Press: https://apnews.com/hub/DonaldTrump