The jury inside Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York will begin deliberations on Wednesday, marking the beginning of the end of the first criminal trial of a former president in US history.
The 12 Manhattan residents will be tasked with reaching a unanimous verdict on each of the 34 felony counts of falsification of corporate records that Trump faces. Prosecutors allege he disguised the purpose of a year’s worth of paybacks to his attorney Michael Cohen, who paid $130,000 in “hush money” to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Before deliberations begin, Judge Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the trial, will give crucial instructions to the jury, laying out the legal issues they must consider and the conclusions they must draw to find Trump beyond a reasonable doubt to be declared guilty. The judge largely sided with prosecutors during a hearing last week on what exactly those instructions will entail.
On Tuesday, attorneys from both sides of the case presented their closing arguments in the Manhattan courtroom where the trial has been unfolding for the past six weeks. Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche took direct aim at Cohen, saying his testimony was riddled with lies and claiming he acted on his own when he made the payment to Daniels. Blanche argued there were plenty of reasons to doubt prosecutors’ story, saying their case hinged on Cohen’s unreliable testimony.
Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, said Cohen was far from a perfect witness but asked jurors to focus on the documents he said corroborate his story. He portrayed Trump as a micromanager who would not have signed $35,000 checks to Cohen if he did not know their true purpose.
The court will reconvene at 10 a.m
