CNN
—
The atmosphere shifted in an instant from lethargic to tense on the high-security 15th floor of a dingy old Manhattan courthouse, as jurors resumed deliberations on the fate of Donald Trump on Thursday morning.
The seven-man, five-woman jury, led by an Irish foreman, broke the oppressive boredom of Wednesday afternoon as they entered the fourth hour of their historic task. A buzzer sounded to alert the judge, and lawyers, court staff, police and reporters scurried to their seats. Then Trump emerged from the waiting room and tugged on his collar. The Republican front-runner was wearing his trademark long tie, but it was gold rather than the red he wore in his “Make America Great Again” campaign.
In the end, the warning didn’t herald a verdict in the hush-money trial that found the 45th president guilty. It was a note from a juror asking him to read some of the lengthy, contentious testimony from former tabloid mogul David Pecker and the prosecution’s star witness, former Trump fixer Michael Cohen. Their testimony touches directly on questions about Trump’s intent to bury scandalous stories about his private life and may shed light on bribes to adult film star Stormy Daniels that prosecutors say Cohen brokered at his boss’s behest. (Trump denies having an alleged affair with Daniels and has pleaded not guilty in the case.)
As Judge Juan Marchan and the lawyers sifted through a record packed with complicated and at times questionable testimony, the buzzer sounded again with a new request from the jury. Reporters in the packed courtroom groaned when it became clear the jurors wanted to hear again the instructions that Marchan had painstakingly read out over an hour Wednesday morning.
No one outside the room where 12 people are pondering the fate of the defendants knows what’s really going on. But across the street, at a TV stand-up comedy location, people keep reading Tea Leaf. The jurors’ willingness to review the testimony suggests that a verdict is not imminent, and that they understand the weight of their responsibility in a case so crucial to Trump’s reputation and the future of the country.
Even for those with access to the public court records, Marchan’s instructions were confusing to the layperson. Under New York law, jurors cannot receive printouts, so it’s no wonder they asked for clarity. CNN senior legal analyst Ellie Honig said the instructions were “too much for a human being to digest and understand.”
The jury request highlights a larger problem for prosecutors who are using unconventional interpretations of the law to hold Trump accountable for the 2016 election, which seems like a lifetime ago.
As Marchan explained, the former president faces 34 charges of falsifying business records. In New York, such actions are only misdemeanors. Therefore, to convict Trump of a felony, a jury would also have to find that he falsified documents to conceal another crime. Prosecutors do not have to prove that a secondary crime was committed, or even specify what it was exactly. In this case, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office raised the possibility of tax violations and intent to falsify other documents, suggesting that Trump may have used “illegal” means to violate election laws and try to steal someone’s election victory.
If a jury that has been testifying for several days needs further help, it seems unlikely that voters with only a superficial knowledge of the case will be able to form strong impressions of their own.
As Marchand gave his first instructions on Wednesday, Trump watched from the lawyers’ table. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, nearly dozing off, but then shook his head disdainfully and grimaced as Marchand read out the 34th count. At one point, Trump reached into his jacket to pull out a pen to scribble a note for Todd Blanche, the square-jawed lawyer to his right. When the pen nearly stuck, he reached over and grabbed the lawyer’s pen from above the legal pad and scribbled a message. He made sure to return Blanche’s pen before putting his own back in his pocket.
That Trump has been held in court all day, awaiting the whims of 12 New York City residents – a native of the city who made his name as a tabloid-fed real estate developer – suggests the extraordinary power imbalance revealed by the trial and Trump’s numerous legal threats.
Former presidents enjoy life with respect. Their glamour continues to linger with Secret Service members even after they no longer have formal power. They move at their own pace and command every room. And Trump has long lived the high life, in his skyscraper penthouse, beach club, golf resort boasting giant fountains and waterfalls, or in his private Boeing. But after spending a few weeks in a courthouse built on the site of a former dungeon, Trump can only sit back and watch the time pass before he finds out whether he will run in November’s election as a convicted felon.
Still, the longer deliberations drag on, the more hopeful the Trump campaign will become. They may be grasping at straws, but the former president’s supporters believe a more favorable verdict could be reached if jurors wait longer, sources told CNN’s Kristen Holmes. “The jury could have reached a guilty verdict in under 45 minutes, and every minute after that creates more hope,” one adviser said.
The only way the former president can let off steam is to stand behind guardrails in front of cameras in a cage outside Marchan’s courtroom, lambasting the judge and the case and falsely claiming the entire trial is evidence of a conspiracy by President Joe Biden to stop him from returning to the presidency in November. Trump’s usual tactic of targeting voters to delegitimize the case before the jury has a verdict is getting old. New on Wednesday was a warning that jury instructions could derail his defense: “Mother Teresa wouldn’t have won this case. These charges are fraudulent.”
The jury heard none of this, so it’s clear that Trump is out there playing political games.
The immediate fate of the Republican nominee rests in the hands of the jurors, who were cross-examined for signs of political bias before the trial began. The jury includes a West Harlem man who works in sales, a young female teacher and a speech therapist. Two of the jurors are lawyers, which could provide some structure to deliberations, said former Florida judge Jeff Schwartz. “If the two lawyers agree with each other, the jury will move in that direction,” Schwartz told CNN on Wednesday.
“You are being asked to make a very important decision about another member of your community,” Marchan told jurors before sending them off to deliberate.
For all his fame, wealth and power, Trump is just that: a lonely defendant awaiting the jury’s verdict.
