Trump trial: Biden calls Trump's remarks 'dangerous'
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.
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Trump guilty on all 34 counts
Jury sends note with 4 requests for testimony
"Good afternoon. We have received a note," Judge Merchan said after taking the bench.
The jury has made four requests for testimony:
- Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker's testimony about the phone conversation with Donald Trump
- Pecker's testimony about the decision regarding the assignment of Playboy model Karen McDougal's life rights
- Pecker's testimony about the 2015 Trump Tower meeting
- Michael Cohen's testimony about the 2015 Trump Tower meeting
Parties return to the courtroom
The prosecution team has returned to the courtroom, with about seven members of the DA's office in the gallery.
Trump has returned to the courtroom as well.
He entered alongside his lawyer Todd Blanche, with his other lawyers and staff following behind.
Trump says he doesn't 'even know what the charges are'
As the jury continues its deliberations, Donald Trump posted on his social media platform in all caps that "I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE CHARGES ARE IN THIS RIGGED CASE."
"I AM ENTITLED TO SPECIFICITY JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE," he wrote.
The post comes after Trump watched Judge Merchan spend over an hour instructing the jury on the law and specific charges in the case, including each of the 34 counts that the former president faces for falsifying business records in order to hide a hush money payment to boost his prospects in the 2016 election.
Trump says 'Mother Teresa could not beat these charges'
"Mother Teresa could not beat these charges," former President Trump told reporters as he exited the courtroom following Judge Merchan's jury instructions.
"We'll see how we do," Trump said as the jury began its deliberations. "It's a very disgraceful situation."
Trump reiterated his grievances with the judge and case's limited gag order, before complaining that he should be on the campaign trail.
"This is five weeks and five weeks of really, essentially, not campaigning," Trump said.
He exited the hallway without answering any questions from reporters.
-Kelsey Walsh
Defense calls Stormy Daniels payment extortion
Defense attorney Todd Blanche told jurors that while both Trump and Stormy Daniels denied the affair, the allegations came back in 2016 so Daniels and others could extort Trump.
"There were a group of people that wanted to take advantage of a situation and ultimately wanted to extort money from President Trump," Blanche said.
Blanche argued that Daniels' claim of a sexual tryst with Trump was known in 2011, so the hush payment could not have been meant to influence an election five years later.
"The idea that when Ms. Daniels surfaced in 2016 that it caused some sort of panic amongst everybody is not true. It's just not true," Blanche said.
Blanche hesitantly used the word extortion in his opening statement to describe the Daniels payment -- calling it "almost an attempt ... to extort" -- but the defense appears to have leaned into the argument in their closing.
Blanche also suggested that Trump may not have known about the Daniels payment at the time, telling jurors they only have Michael Cohen to rely on for that evidence.
"There's no way that you can find that President Trump knew about this payment at the time it was made without believing Michael Cohen. Period," Blanche said. "And you cannot believe his words."