Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts in his hush money trial.
Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 felony counts related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been convicted on criminal charges.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
About 60 members of the press have filled up the courtroom's wooden pews ahead of today's proceedings.
As reporters settled in, a court reporter used an office chair to wheel a three-foot stack of printed transcripts into the courtroom.
She left the precarious slack of binders at the front of the courtroom near the jury box, prompting light applause from the reporters in the gallery.
The jury in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial is scheduled to begin deliberating the outcome of the case this morning after lengthy closing arguments yesterday.
Judge Juan Merchan will begin the proceedings at 10 a.m. ET when he instructs the jury about the law in the case -- a vital process that Merchan estimates will take approximately an hour.
Once the jury is charged, they can begin deliberating whether prosecutors met their burden by proving that Trump falsified 34 business records to further a criminal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election.
The jury heard nearly eight hours of summations yesterday when defense lawyer Todd Blanche and prosecutor Joshua Steinglass delivered marathon closing arguments.
Blanche told jurors that prosecutors failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt due in part to their reliance on the testimony of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who he described as the "human embodiment of reasonable doubt."
Steinglass argued that Trump's alleged falsification of records ahead of the election amounted to a "subversion of democracy" by hiding critical information from voters.
With closing arguments concluded, Judge Merchan dismissed the jury and instructed them to return tomorrow for deliberations.
He said the jury will deliberate between 10 a.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. ET tomorrow.
The judge ended by advising the parties to instruct their guests that they will be locked in the courtroom once the jury charge starts.
"No one will be allowed in or out of the courtroom," Merchan said.
Trump had a stomp in his step as he exited the courtroom, fiercely gripping his blazer and yanking down loud enough that it made a snapping noise.
He did not address the media, but glared at a reporter and muttered something under his breath as he exited.
"There's no special standard for this defendant," prosecutor Josh Steinglass said as he finished his closing. "Donald Trump can't shoot someone during rush hour on Fifth Avenue and get away with it."
The judge sustained the defense's objection to that statement.
"In the interest of justice and in the name of the People of New York, I ask you to find the defendant guilty," Steinglass said, concluding his marathon closing.
