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
'You are the judges of the facts,' judge tells jurors
"It is not my responsibility to judge the evidence here. It is yours," Judge Merchan told the jurors as he began his instructions for their deliberations.
"You are the judges of the facts, and you are responsible for deciding whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty."
The judge instructed jurors on avoiding "stereotypes" or "implicit biases" in their deliberations.
"As a juror you are asked to make a very important decision about another member of the community," he said.
Judge says reading of jury charge will take an hour
Judge Juan Merchan took his seat on the bench, and Trump flashed a closed mouth smile when the judge said good morning in his usual fashion.
Before bringing the jury back into the courtroom, Merchan asked the parties to confirm the proposed verdict form.
Prosecutor Josh Steinglass flagged a minor typo, but both sides appeared to be in agreement about the form, which will the jury will fill out once they render a verdict.
After the jury was brought into the courtroom, Merchan told them the reading of the jury charge will take approximately an hour.
Trump, online, calls prosecutors' closing statement bull----
Former President Trump did not speak with reporters as he entered the courtroom this morning, but instead made a series of posts on social media.
Referring to prosecutors' five-hour closing statement yesterday, Trump wrote, "THE D.A.’s OFFICE WAS ALLOWED TO GO ON WITH 5 HOURS OF BULL---- YESTERDAY."
The defense's closing argument took three hours.
Prosecutors, Trump arrive in courtroom
The prosecution team has entered the courtroom ahead of this morning's jury charge.
Prosecutors Josh Steinglass, Matthew Colangelo and Rebecca Mangold are seated at the counsel table, and seven other members of the district attorney's team are in the gallery.
Former President Trump entered the courtroom minutes later.
Defense says Cohen never would have worked for free
Returning to the testimony of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, defense attorney Todd Blanche asked jurors, "How is the government going to ask you to convict President Trump based on the words of Michael Cohen?"
Blanche insisted to jurors that if the payments were all for repaying Cohen, that would mean Michael Cohen was working for free in 2017 -- something he said he never would have done.
"You saw him on the stand for three days -- do you believe that for a second?," Blanche asked. "That after getting stiffed on his bonus in 2016 … do you think that Michael Cohen thought, 'I'mgoing to work for free?'"
"Is that the man that testified, or was that a lie?" Blanche asked. "That is absurd!" he nearly shouted.