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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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.


Reporters take their place for today's proceedings

About 60 members of the press have filled up the courtroom's wooden pews ahead of today's proceedings.

As reporters settled in, a court reporter used an office chair to wheel a three-foot stack of printed transcripts into the courtroom.

She left the precarious slack of binders at the front of the courtroom near the jury box, prompting light applause from the reporters in the gallery.


Jury deliberations scheduled to get underway

The jury in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial is scheduled to begin deliberating the outcome of the case this morning after lengthy closing arguments yesterday.

Judge Juan Merchan will begin the proceedings at 10 a.m. ET when he instructs the jury about the law in the case -- a vital process that Merchan estimates will take approximately an hour.

Once the jury is charged, they can begin deliberating whether prosecutors met their burden by proving that Trump falsified 34 business records to further a criminal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election.

The jury heard nearly eight hours of summations yesterday when defense lawyer Todd Blanche and prosecutor Joshua Steinglass delivered marathon closing arguments.

Blanche told jurors that prosecutors failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt due in part to their reliance on the testimony of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who he described as the "human embodiment of reasonable doubt."

Steinglass argued that Trump's alleged falsification of records ahead of the election amounted to a "subversion of democracy" by hiding critical information from voters.


Court recessed until deliberations begin tomorrow

With closing arguments concluded, Judge Merchan dismissed the jury and instructed them to return tomorrow for deliberations.

He said the jury will deliberate between 10 a.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. ET tomorrow.

The judge ended by advising the parties to instruct their guests that they will be locked in the courtroom once the jury charge starts.

"No one will be allowed in or out of the courtroom," Merchan said.

Trump had a stomp in his step as he exited the courtroom, fiercely gripping his blazer and yanking down loud enough that it made a snapping noise.

He did not address the media, but glared at a reporter and muttered something under his breath as he exited.


Prosecutor reviews impact of 'Access Hollywood' tape

More than an a hour and a half into his summation, prosecutor Josh Steinglass finally turned his attention to the Stormy Daniels hush money payment.

Steinglass resumed his summation by discussing the impact of the "Access Hollywood" tape, which prosecutors argued was the impetus for the Daniels hush money payment.

"It all began with this email from this Washington Post reporter named David Fahrenthold," Steinglass said, displaying the exhibit. Fahrenthold had reached out to then-Trump aide Hope Hicks with a transcript of the "Access Hollywood" remarks to ask for the campaign's comment.

Steinglass recapped some of Hicks' testimony, saying her "initial instinct was to deny the video's legitimacy." But once the campaign saw the video, "that strategy quickly shifted from 'deny, deny, deny' to 'spin.'"

Steinglass then played a video of Trump's reaction to the "Access Hollywood" tape in which he expressed his regret.

On Oct. 8, Steinglass says, there was a "flurry of activity" as Trump's campaign sought to spin the Access Hollywood tape. Michael Cohen asked then-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker about a RadarOnline article "about Trump being a playboy" and asked him to remove it, which he did.

"This is not catch-and-kill exactly, but they are purging the internet at the direction of the campaign," Steinglass said.