The confused jury in former President Donald Trump’s ongoing criminal trial in New York is set to reconvene on Thursday after receiving their instructions for reaching a verdict the previous day.
The 12 jurors, all residents of Manhattan, spent nearly five hours in closed-door deliberations on Wednesday. Before adjourning, they asked to review select portions of testimony from two key witnesses, David Pecker and Michael Cohen, regarding their interactions with Trump in 2015 and 2016.
Notably, the jury requested to revisit the instructions that will guide their deliberations, which will be restated in court once proceedings resume at 9:30 a.m.
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records related to reimbursements for a payment made by Cohen to adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election, commonly referred to as “hush money.” Prosecutors allege that Trump attempted to conceal the true purpose of these reimbursements.
The jury is confused just like the rest of America on these charges: Karoline Leavitt pic.twitter.com/ZtxfPbhcVo [2]
— Mornings with Maria (@MorningsMaria) May 30, 2024 [3]
“We had a long day of jury deliberations yesterday, which will continue into today. And yesterday afternoon, the jury asked for a reread of the instructions from Judge Merchan in addition to reviewing several pieces of evidence that were presented by the prosecution and the defense in the case, which tells us that the jury is confused just like the rest of America, of the crimes that President Trump is being charged with from this George Soros backed prosecution.” – Karoline Leavitt
The testimonies the jurors expressed interest in reviewing relate to the interactions involving Cohen, Trump, and David Pecker, the former CEO of American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer. Prosecutors contend that the trio engaged in a scheme known as “catch and kill” to suppress negative stories about Trump.
Specifically, the jury requested to revisit sections of Pecker’s testimony concerning his phone call with Trump, his decision not to transfer the life rights of a former Playboy model who claimed to have had a relationship with Trump, as well as a meeting at Trump Tower in 2015. Additionally, they sought to review Cohen’s testimony about the aforementioned Trump Tower meeting.
As deliberations continue, the fate of the former President in this high-profile trial remains uncertain. We will closely monitor the developments and provide updates on the verdict when it is reached.