Trump hush money trial: Trump found guilty on all counts in historic case
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
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
Judge tells parties to stay in building during deliberations
Jurors will deliberate until 4:30 p.m. ET today if they don't reach a verdict sooner, Judge Merchan said.
"You cannot leave the building and you need to be able to get here quickly" when a verdict is reached, the judge told the parties after the jury had left the courtroom.
Former President Trump got up from the defense table and spoke with several associates, then exited the courtroom with his entourage.
The staff and lawyers from the Manhattan district attorney's office also left the courtroom.
Michael Cohen is 'MVP of liars,' defense says
Defense attorney Todd Blanche continued to argue that the jury cannot trust Cohen's testimony as a whole based on the misstatements they highlighted.
"We happened to catch him in a lie," Blanche said. "We put them into evidence, and now you know it happened."
Blanche argued that the lie highlighted that Cohen didn't care about his oath to tell the truth.
"For that we have an oath, we have an oath that every witness takes when they testify before you the jury. It matters -- the oath matters to most. He lied," Blanche said, as the jury watched attentively.
Blanche told the jury that Michael Cohen lied to his banker, his family, his wife, every single reporter he speaks to, prosecutors, and federal judges.
"He lied to you, make no mistake about it," said Blanche.
"He's literally like an MVP of liars," Blanche said of Cohen.