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
Jury sends note with 4 requests for testimony
"Good afternoon. We have received a note," Judge Merchan said after taking the bench.
The jury has made four requests for testimony:
- Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker's testimony about the phone conversation with Donald Trump
- Pecker's testimony about the decision regarding the assignment of Playboy model Karen McDougal's life rights
- Pecker's testimony about the 2015 Trump Tower meeting
- Michael Cohen's testimony about the 2015 Trump Tower meeting
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
State stresses hush payment was made right before election
While defense lawyers have talked plenty about an Oct. 24, 2016, phone call between Michael Cohen and Keith Schiller whose purpose they question, prosecutors have emphasized the importance of two other calls directly between Trump and Cohen on Oct. 26, 2016.
The day Cohen wired money from Essential Consultants LLC -- the bank account for the Stormy Daniels hush money payment -- Cohen spoke to Trump twice over the phone around 8 a.m. Prosecutors argued that Cohen got the go-ahead from Trump to make the payment on that call before he crossed the street from Trump Tower to wire money from First Republic Bank.
One call was three minutes long, and the other was about 90 seconds.
"This is damning, right?" prosecutor Josh Steinglass said. "Half an hour before that, he is getting the final go-ahead from Trump."
Steinglass said the "objective of the nondisclosure agreement with Stormy Daniels was to keep her quiet.
"It's no coincidence that the sex happened in 2006 but the payoff didn't happen until October 2016, two weeks before the election. That's because the defendant's primary concern was not his family, but the election," Steinglass said.
Trump, sitting at the defense table, shook his head in response.