Updated
May 30, 2024, 4:43 p.m. ET6
Updated 6 minutes ago
Jonah E. Bromwich and
Ben Protess, New York Times
Jurors have reached a verdict in the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump, who faces
34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush-money payment made to a porn star in the days before the 2016 election. The judge in the case, Juan M. Merchan, said shortly after 4:30 p.m. that the jury had requested a half-hour to fill out the forms.
The 12 New Yorkers who make up the jury heard weeks of tawdry testimony describing tabloid deal-making, a sexual encounter between Mr. Trump and the porn star, Stormy Daniels, and the $130,000 payoff that kept her silent. Prosecutors say Mr. Trump engaged in a fraud against the American people, arguing that he falsified records related to the reimbursement of his onetime fixer, Michael D. Cohen, who paid her out of his own pocket.
The criminal case is one of four against Mr. Trump, who is again the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and it is most likely the only one that will go to trial before Election Day. If convicted,
he faces a sentence ranging from probation to four years in prison — although he would be certain to appeal, a process that could take years.
Here’s what to know:
- Jurors sought a refresher: The jurors asked to again hear portions of testimony by Mr. Cohen and David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, who prosecutors say was part of a conspiracy to suppress unflattering stories on Mr. Trump’s behalf during the 2016 campaign. One portion of the testimony related to another hush-money deal, with Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who says she had a monthslong affair with Mr. Trump in 2006 and 2007. (Mr. Trump denies this.) Ms. McDougal, who did not testify, was paid $150,000 in August 2016 by The National Enquirer’s parent company in exchange for her story, which The Enquirer then did not publish.
The jury also wanted the judge in the case, Juan M. Merchan, to repeat some of the instructions he gave the jury on Wednesday, which serve as a guide to their deliberations. But he jurors don’t have a copy of his instructions, which the law does not allow.
- Dueling views of the case: A prosecutor from the Manhattan district attorney’s office said in closing arguments that Mr. Trump had tried to “hoodwink the American voter” with a conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. “All roads lead to the man who benefited the most: Donald Trump,” the prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, told the jury.
Todd Blanche, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, argued in his closing that Mr. Trump’s actions were not crimes, but merely business as it is commonly practiced. The case, he told jurors, hinged on the testimony of Mr. Cohen, whom he called “the greatest liar of all time.”
- The core of the charges: Prosecutors say Mr. Trump tried to disguise repayments to Mr. Cohen as ordinary legal fees. Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies sleeping with Ms. Daniels, despite her testimony, under oath, about a sexual encounter with him in Lake Tahoe, Nev., in 2006.