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.


Trump guilty on all 34 counts


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Jury asks to rehear judge's instructions

Judge Merchan, returning to the bench, announced, "We did just receive another note."

The judge said the jury wants to rehear the judge's instructions.

Merchan suggested bringing them back to clarify if they want the entire instructions or just a portion.


Prosecutors said Trump Tower meeting was central to case

In his closing argument yesterday, prosecutor Josh Steinglass framed the 2015 Trump Tower meeting, for which the jury requested the transcript, as central to the case.

"That was the whole purpose of the Trump Tower meeting, to get AMI to help [Trump] win the election," Steinglass told the jurors, claiming that "the Trump Tower conspiracy violated New York state election law."

Defense attorney Todd Blanche, in his closing, pushed back on the significance of the meeting, saying it was AMI merely agreeing to do what it had done for decades.

"They had been doing it for President Trump since the Nineties," Blanche said of the arrangement to catch and kill unflattering stories. "Mr. Pecker told you that AMI purchases stories all the time.

"They purchased stories about Tiger Woods, Mark Wahlberg and other people. No crime," Blanche said.


Requested testimony centers on McDougal payment

The phone call between Trump and then-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, which the jury requested be read back, involved an alleged discussion about Playboy model Karen McDougal, who alleged a year-long affair with Trump that Trump has denied.

"With all of the evidence and documents in this case, it's easy to lose sight of the significance of this phone call," prosecutor Josh Steinglass told jurors during his closing argument yesterday.

Steinglass argued that the call proved that Trump "was overtly discussing purchasing [McDougal's] story to keep it from being published" -- and that it also proved that Michael Cohen was telling the truth when he said he was acting at the direction of Trump.

"This call makes it impossible for the defense to claim that Cohen was acting on his own, that he was taking it upon himself to work with AMI to purchase the McDougal story," Steinglass told the jurors.


Court prepares for readback of requested testimony

"I will be in the robing room -- let me know when you are ready for readback," Judge Merchan said after the jury requested a review of four pieces of testimony from Michael Cohen and David Pecker.

Merchan then left the courtroom.

A court reporter dropped a 12-inch stack of transcripts on the prosecution counsel table then handed an index to the prosecutors.

Trump attorneys Emil Bove and and Todd Blanche appeared to be searching through papers on their table, while Trump sat motionless. Prosecutors were doing the same thing.


Prosecutor begins taking jury through timeline of case

The first hour of prosecutor Josh Steinglass' summation sounded impromptu, as if he was extemporaneously delivering a direct response to the defense's closing.

As his closing entered its second hour, Steinglass unveiled a slideshow and timeline to make his argument -- slowing down the pace of his delivery and bringing the jury back to the first witness in the case, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.

Steinglass walked the jury through the $30,000 payment American Media Inc. made to doorman Dino Sajudin for the rights to his false story about Trump having a child out of wedlock. He outlined timeline of the catch and kill, emphasizing the steps taken to ensure Sajudin did not become a problem for the campaign.

According to Steinglass, Cohen added a $1 million breach of contract penalty "just to put the fear of God into Sajudin."

"Mr. Sajudin had been completely neutralized as a threat to the campaign," Steinglass said about the payment.