Donald Trump trial: Jury deliberations begin as former president appears pessimistic outside court
The jury in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has completed its first day of deliberations – while the former president once again labelled the proceedings “unfair” as he spoke outside the court.
Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories that could hinder his 2016 presidential campaign.
Prosecutors say the reimbursements, paid to Ms Daniels via Trump’s then lawyer Michael Cohen, were falsely logged as “legal expenses” to hide the true nature of the transactions.
Trump denies the affair and all charges against him.
The 12-person jury at Manhattan Criminal Court, New York, is now deliberating on the evidence heard over more than four weeks – which included 22 witness testimonies and hours of closing arguments from lawyers.
Trump appeared glum as he sat in the courtroom on Wednesday. Pic: AP
Stormy Daniels, seen here in 2018, testified in the four-week long trial. File pic: AP
The first day of deliberations saw the jury send two notes to the judge, as they asked to rehear jury instructions as well testimonies from National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and Trump’s former lawyer Mr Cohen.
They specifically want to rehear Mr Pecker and Mr Cohen’s remarks about a 2015 Trump Tower meeting, where the former agreed to identify negative stories for then presidential candidate Trump.
The former president has frequently addressed reporters outside the court Pic: AP
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They also requested to rehear Mr Pecker’s words on a phone call about a deal with Karen McDougal – who alleges she had an affair with Trump – and his decision not to sell the rights for her story to Trump.
The jury cannot be given a transcript and the testimonies will instead be read to them in the courtroom.
Judge Juan M. Merchan said it will take some time to gather the requested sections and about half an hour for it to be read aloud.
Trump lashes out again
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Trump dismisses trial as ‘rigged’
Trump struck a pessimistic tone as he left the courtroom after jury instructions were read – repeating his claim it’s a “very unfair trial” and saying: “Mother Teresa could not beat those charges, but we’ll see. We’ll see how we do.”
He remained in the courthouse as deliberations were under way and made a series of posts on his Truth Social platform complaining about the case.
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In one post, all in capital letters, Trump claimed he didn’t “know what the charges are in this rigged case” despite being present in court when the judge detailed them to jurors.
The jury will resume deliberations at 9.30am local time on Thursday.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
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