NEW YORK — After five weeks of testimony, Former President Donald Trump was found guilty Thursday in his “hush money” trial in Manhattan.
The jury of seven men and five women convicted Trump of all 34 counts of falsifying company records.
Alice Gainer of CBS New York was one of about sixty journalists with a seat in the large courtroom, and she has been there every day of the trialwhich started on April 15.
‘There was an audible gasp in the courtroom’
Thursday was the second day of jury deliberation. The jury had sent two notes on Wednesday — one asked to review the testimony and another asked to repeat the judge’s instructions — but there were no notes from the jury all day Thursday.
Around 4:15 p.m., the judge entered the courtroom and said he would give the jury a few more minutes before dismissing them at 4:30 p.m.
Gainer says the former president appeared to be in good spirits as he walked into the courtroom.
However, at 4:30 p.m. the judge returned to the courtroom and said the jury had reached a verdict and wanted an extra 30 minutes to complete the forms.
“There was an audible gasp in the courtroom because no one expected it. They thought they were going to be dismissed for the day and we’d be back tomorrow,” Gainer said. “When they said they had a verdict, he was sitting there and I saw him again with his eyes closed. And that’s his behavior throughout the whole trial. I don’t know if it’s intentional, he wants to give that impression. We I know not. We asked him… and he doesn’t answer that question.”
Court officials instructed the crowd to remain silent as the verdict was read.
“He had a very red face.”
Just after 5 p.m., the jury was brought into the courtroom and the presiding judge read out the verdict: guilty on all 34 counts.
Gainer says that even though reporters are in the large courtroom, they don’t have a clear view of Trump’s face because they sit behind him, but there are video monitors they can view through binoculars. However, as the verdict was read, the video feed from the defense table was cut off so they could not see Trump’s immediate reaction.
Courtroom artist Jane Rosenberg told Gainer that she saw Trump look at the jury foreman, then shake his head and close his eyes.
The jurors seemed expressionless and there was no audible reaction in the courtroom.
The defense tried to file a request for acquittal immediately after the reading of the verdict, but this was rejected. There was no visible response from prosecutors.
“When the former president walked out, he had a very red face. He kind of awkwardly reached for the hand of Eric Trump, his son. I don’t know if he was shaking it or what he was trying to do, a father.” And when he walked out, he was a little sweaty and had a very angry look on his face,” Gainer said.
“There was a moment where the judge said, ‘What’s the status of the bail?’ And the prosecutors said, ‘There’s no bail.’ So the former president walked out, he left and we were immediately released from the courtroom,” Gainer added.
Trump then spoke to cameras outside the courtroomwho called the trial “rigged” and “a disgrace.”
In dismissing the jury, the judge said it is now up to them whether they speak publicly about the trial or not.
The verdict is set for July 11 at 10 a.m
