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
Judge says he will be responsible for any sentencing
Judge Merchan told the jury that they should not speculate about the sentence or punishment in the case.
"It will be my responsibility to impose an appropriate sentence," Merchan said.
The judge also had to advise the jury about this yesterday after defense lawyer Todd Blanche argued that the jury "cannot send somebody to prison" based on Michael Cohen's testimony.
The jury appears to be laser focused on Merchan during the charge. Half of the jurors appear to be taking notes.
'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.
Jury rehears exchange about gaps in Pecker's memory
The jury heard an exchange between David Pecker and defense attorney Emil Bove where Bove highlighted that Pecker originally thought the Trump Tower meeting took place in the first week of August 2015. Pecker testified that the meeting actually happened in the middle of August.
Bove used the moment as an opportunity to highlight "gaps" in Pecker's memory and emphasize how long ago the meeting took place.
Q: And you changed your testimony here; right?
A: Yes, when I discovered that it was in the middle -- that it was the middle of August.
Q: And when you say that you "discovered," what you mean is that somebody told you that, notwithstanding what you testified about in the Grand Jury, President Trump was actually not in New York City during the first week of August; correct?
A: I -- I don't recall anyone telling me about that, that Mr. Trump was away in the first week of August.
Q: And then you changed your testimony, this week, on that issue; right?
A: Yes, that's correct.
Q: Why did you change your testimony?
A: I thought that -- I didn't know the exact date. I thought -- I know it was in the first half of August, so I thought it was the middle of August, that's what I recollected. That's why I corrected my -- the dates, yes.
A: I didn't believe that the exact date was --
Q: I understand. And I don't mean to put you on the spot. What I'm getting at, though, is that these things happened a long time ago; right?
A: Yes.
Q: And even when you're doing your best, and I'm sure you are right now, it's hard to remember exactly what happened when; right?
A: Yes.
Q: And when you are remembering about conversations that you had, it's hard to remember what people said almost ten years ago; correct?
A: You -- Ahhhh, yes.
Q: And so there are some instances where your mind sort of fills in gaps; right?
A: To the best of my knowledge.
Q: And you do your best to explain what happened in a way that makes sense; correct?
A: To what I remember.
Q: Yeah, to what you remember. And you fill in some details to keep things in sequence; right, and to make them sound logical?
A: I try to make them -- to what I remember. And to be truthful.
Q: I understand. But there are some gaps; correct?
A: Yes.