NY v. Trump jury adjourns without reaching verdict on first day of deliberations
Judge Juan Merchan presented the jury with instructions Wednesday morning before they headed into deliberations for the rest of the day in former President Trump's New York criminal trial. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Coverage for this event has ended.
Trump speaks after the first day of jury deliberations
Former president Donald Trump spoke outside the Manhattan courtroom Wednesday following the first day of jury deliberations.
"You have a very, very I mean, what is very unfair is that I'm not campaigning, in this room all day long, from morning to night in the Biden witch hunt," Trump said.
Trump lamented that "a lot of key witnesses" were not called by the prosecution that he says should have been. He didn't name names due to his gag order.
"Because of the gag order, I won't go down into individual names, but you have a lot of big players, very big players that would have solved their problem or actually would have given us the win. We already have the win...if we had a fair judge, this case would have been over a long time ago," Trump said.
"The other thing, the confusion is nobody knows what the crime is because there's no crime. Nobody knows what the crime is. The D.A. didn't name the crime. They don't know what the crime is. That's what the problem is. It's a disgrace," Trump added.
"This thing ought to be ended immediately. The judge ought to end it and save his reputation," he said .
Andrew Cherkasky on Trump trial: 'We’ve seen this train coming for a long time'
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky said Wednesday that the defense has 'been begging for clarity' about the specific charges former President Donald Trump is facing and noted "we've seen this train coming for a long time."
"We've seen this train coming for a long time," Cherkasky said during an appearance on "The Story" on Fox News Channel. "The defense has been begging for clarity about what this escalating offense really looks like, and now we see that all along was going to let the prosecutors, essentially, have this three-different-prong approach to that escalating offense."
"I think the idea of representing a client necessitates that you have adequate notice of exactly what you're defending your client against," he continued. "I think it's a major issue in this case."
If Trump is convicted and an appeal is issued, Cherkasky said they'll need to start raising issues from the beginning of the trial to the end, starting with Judge Juan Merchan's "bias."
Another "real issue" with the case, according to Cherkasky, is the prosecution's attempt of "showing other bad conduct of Donald Trump in order to prove his criminality" in this specific New York case.
Judge Merchan ‘muddied up the waters’ to make Trump trial a ‘very complicated case’: Jeanine Pirro
Fox News' Judge Jeanine Pirro suggested Wednesday that Judge Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing Trump's New York City trial, intentionally "muddied up the waters," to make the case more complicated than it should have been.
"What the judge did was he muddied up the waters, and what was a relatively simple case has now been turned into a very complicated case by the judge saying, look now we've got these three misdemeanors, but if you believe that any of these three things happened, federal campaign violation, a tax violation or the falsification of records, and we don't really care whether you all agree on which one of these three things happened, then you can give the defendant a felony," Pirro said.
"That, to me, is the most shocking part of this," she later added. "It was almost as if he was making this up as he went along."
CNN data guru says public opinion on Trump hasn’t changed amid trial: ‘Don’t really care that much'
CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten revealed numbers on the network Wednesday showing that Americans’ opinions on former President Trump haven’t changed during his ongoing hush money trial in New York City.
As closing arguments in the trial occurred, Enten cited a Quinnipiac poll showing that after the prosecution examined Michael Cohen, 46% of respondents believed Trump had done something illegal regarding payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels — the same percentage as during pre-opening statements.
"The fact is that most Americans don’t really care that much," Enten told CNN anchor John Berman in a clip flagged by The Daily Caller, explaining why he believes public opinion hasn’t changed.
Berman asked how things have changed in the "44 days" since jury selection began."
Simply put, John, they have not," Enten said. He gestured toward a graphic showing Quinnipiac’s poll.
"Pre-opening statements, think Trump did something illegal, 46%, after the direct examination of Michael Cohen by the prosecution, look at where we are now, 46%," Enten said. "The percentage of Americans who think that the charges are very serious, in fact, dropped from 40% to a little bit more than 35% during the course of this trial."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Gabriel Hays
It feels 'horrible' waiting for jury to deliberate: Criminal defense attorney
Criminal defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh said Wednesday that the waiting a defense team does during jury deliberations was like going through "hell."
"I feel like I felt every single time one of my juries went to deliberate. It's hell. It is horrible. You put in years of your life, and ultimately your entire fate, you and your client's, lies in the hands of 12 people that you really don't know," Eiglarsh told Fox News' Shannon Bream as the jurors in President Trump's on going trial continued in their fourth hour of deliberations.
"They're strangers. You really have no idea what side of the political aisle they're on. You have no idea what kind of baggage they bring to the courtroom. You absolutely have no idea. And anyone who thinks they know what the verdict is going to be, they really don't know," he added.
Trump asks NY Court of Appeals to expedite its review of his gag order
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Wednesday filed a request with the New York Court of Appeals asking for it to expedite it's review of the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan, a Trump campaign spokesperson confirmed.
“President Trump has filed a request with the New York Court of Appeals seeking expedited review of the unconstitutional Gag Order imposed by Justice Merchan," Steven Cheung, Trump campaign spokesperson said.
"The Gag Order wrongfully silences the leading candidate for President of the United States, President Trump, at the height of his campaign while he holds a commanding lead in the polls. The Gag Order applies only to President Trump and not to any of his political opponents and critics, including Crooked Joe Biden, whose campaign held a bizarre press conference on the steps of the courthouse yesterday. The Election Interfering Gag Order violates the First Amendment rights of President Trump and all American voters, who have a fundamental right to hear his message as they decide how to cast their ballots," he said.
Biden campaign has to be ‘nimble,’ ‘creative’ as Trump controls trial narrative: Kayleigh McEnany
"Outnumbered" host and former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday that the Biden campaign
"I'm very curious about this decision to speak after the verdict," McEnany said. "I'm very curious about what we saw yesterday..."
"I think they're desperate for attention," she added of the Biden-Harris campaign. "I think this has a lot to do with [Trump] driving the narrative and secondly, how successful the Bronx rally was. President Trump chose to go speak at the Libertarian convention over the weekend, and yeah, there were some boos here and there, but it was a creative move, an audacious move."
"Their efforts to be creative and nimble, I think, was best embodied with their debate salvo of 'Hey, take us up on these terms' and they set the terms of the debate. That was a case of the Biden campaign being nimble. Yesterday, I'm not quite sure fit the bill," she added, referencing the Biden campaign's decision to have actor Robert De Niro speak out against Trump outside the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday.
McEnany also said she doesn't believe anyone from former President Donald Trump's legal team is "rooting for" a conviction and noted that the trial "hasn't hurt him" when it comes to polling.
"I don't think anyone on his team wants to see a conviction, not just for personal reasons but because that is a huge unknown. I mean it's never happened in history for a presidential candidate so it's a huge unknown politically, so I don't think anyone is rooting for that, per say," she said.
McEnany said she questions polls that argue that the "bottom will fall out" and Trump's lead in the polls will increase if he is convicted in the case of NY v. Trump, saying the "bottom hasn't fallen out yet."
Noting how Trump's unprecedented trial in New York hasn't hurt his standing in the polls, McEnany said, "Politico noted this number yesterday, that at the beginning of the trial, April 22, there was a 0.3% lead for Trump in FiveThirtyEight. Today, that's 1.4%. So, this hasn't hurt him."
"Yes, a conviction would be novel. Yes, who knows what would happen in the event of a conviction. But I wonder how much of this, a story line back from 2016, how much of this is already baked in," she added.
Turley inside court: At least one juror could be unconvinced
The request for instructions is particularly interesting. I cannot imagine a need for the instruction unless there was an early disagreement in that room on the evidence and the standards. That could indicate at least one juror who is not convinced by either Steinglass or Blanche saying that this is a no brainer.
-- Jonathan Turley, constitutional law attorney and Fox News contributor
Jury dismissed after first day of deliberations
Judge Juan Merchan instructed jury not to discuss research case. Court will resume at 9:30 a.m.
The jury sent two notes to the judge, including a request to rehear his instructions on how to consider the evidence.
They also asked to rehear testimony from former American Media, Inc. CEO David Pecker and Michael Cohen. Merchan said the court was still looking to locate the requested testimony, and estimated it would take approximately 30 minutes to read back.
It's unclear if the jury wants to hear the entirety of Merchan's instructions again; the judge said they can decide Thursday morning.
The jury can also decide tomorrow if they want to stay until 6:00 p.m. Thursday evening.
Trump walked out of the court room, and did not stop to speak but fist pumped as he walked by the cameras.
GOP senator calls for criminal investigation into Trump trial judge over gag orders
Sen. J.D. Vance is demanding a criminal investigation into New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan over his enforcement of gag orders against former President Trump during his trial.
The Ohio Republican, a strong advocate of the former president, called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to open an investigation into Merchan, specifically for depriving Trump of his First Amendment right to free speech.
"The public evidence suggests that an investigation is warranted at least. And all indications are that the responsible parties have their sights set, not only on rights protected by the Constitution, but on rightsholders of core federal concern, including the leading candidate for the presidency," Vance wrote in a letter to Garland.
"The public evidence suggests that an investigation is warranted at least. And all indications are that the responsible parties have their sights set, not only on rights protected by the Constitution, but on rightsholders of core federal concern, including the leading candidate for the presidency," Vance wrote in a letter to Garland.
"On Merchan’s orders, a Republican presidential candidate has been made powerless to question the credibility of the witnesses testifying against him, the motivations of the prosecutors pursuing him, or the impartiality of the apparently conflicted judge fining him," Vance claimed.
The Department of Justice did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
Vance even suggested that Merchan has deprived Trump of more than just his First Amendment rights. He claimed the judge had tried to prevent the former president from getting an impartial jury. "During jury selection, Merchan refused to dismiss prospective jurors with obvious bias," he wrote.
Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
OPINION: Biden's bully: The real reason Robert De Niro spoke out before the Trump verdict
What a spectacle. As the Donald Trump defense team summed up its case in downtown Manhattan, the Biden administration sent an actor -- Robert De Niro -- outside the courthouse to play political surrogate in a street press conference. In one of De Niro’s better recent performances, the actor morphed from politicized thespian to Manhattan street crazy before our eyes. All that was missing was the sign proclaiming, "Repent – The End Is Nigh."
He even wore a mask outside – until he got around a crowd, which is when he took it off.
Clearly, there’s something going on with Bob.
But was De Niro’s rant – in which he told us that a Trump presidency will mean that elections are "all done" and that the former president will "destroy not only the city, but the country, and eventually, he could destroy the world" – really as nutty as all that? Or was there a deeper message there?
Full story by Paul Mauro
Jury sends second note to judge, asks to hear instructions again
The jury sent a second note to Judge Juan Merchan, asking to rehear his instructions.
The judge suggested bringing jury back and tells them they are looking for the requested testimony, and ask if they need all instructions re-read.
Fox News' Maria Paronich contributed to this update.
Fox News' Trey Gowdy breaks down the first juror note in NY v. Trump
Trey Gowdy, a former state and federal prosecutor, said that it's "absolutely impossible to make anything" of the first jury note sent out since deliberations began.
Trump jurors are a 'cross-section of a very smart jury': Mercedes Colwin
Trial attorney Mercedes Colwin discusses what the makeup of the Trump jury means on 'America Reports.'
"Smart jury, I love it," Colwin said. "These are very smart people, and you needed people be very smart because there are so many facts... the you have to interpret a lot of complex issues."
Urbahn and Turley inside court: How much weight will the jury give to David Pecker's testimony?
I wonder how much weight the jury will give to Pecker’s testimony about how his relationship with Trump was mutually beneficial – National Enquirer readers loved good stories about Trump and thus, helping Trump was also good business for him.
-- Kerri Urbahn, Fox News legal editor
Pecker testified that he told Trump that “I would be your eyes and ears” and that “anything that I hear in the marketplace, if I hear anything negative about yourself or if I hear about women selling stories, I would notify Michael Cohen ... and then he would be able to get them killed in another magazine ... or somebody would have to purchase them.”
This is obviously a key issue on Trump’s knowledge and direction. Notably, the meeting did not include express statements on how payments would be made or how they would be recorded. It is a meeting that was primarily highlighted to show Trump’s knowledge of the work of Pecker and Cohen.
It is to be expected that any discussion of Trump's intent and knowledge would include a close review of the Trump Tower meeting. It also shows the importance of David Pecker and his testimony. Pecker offered both sides good testimony. For the prosecutors, he made clear that he was killing stories in relation to the election. However, for the defense, he admitted that he had previously killed stories not only for Trump (going back years) but for other celebrities.
The Trump Tower meeting is also key to the government's argument that none of this was "a normal legitimate press function." Merchan instructed the jury on the exception for such functions. Yet, neither side presented evidence on what are the normal or legitimate functions of the media. The Clinton campaign was known for killing or planting stories in the same campaign. Yet, the jury only heard from Steinglass who stated repeatedly as a fact that this was not "a normal legitimate press function."
-- Jonathan Turley, constitutional law attorney and FNC contributor
Conservatives unload on 'political' NYC prosecution of Trump outside courtroom
Bystanders outside former President Trump's criminal trial on Wednesday spoke to Fox News Digital and blasted what they said is a political prosecution of the former president and chief political rival of President Biden.
"This thing is damaging to the American legal system for decades to come," a man outside the courtroom told Fox News Digital. "The political use of the courts. Listen, on this level, it's dreadful… never mind Trump, it's damaging to the country."
When asked if he thought the trial was politically motivated, the man scoffed in agreement and said, "It's also economically motivated."
"Let's do it fair, let's lay out the deck of cards, if Biden is scared to lay down the deck of cards and ask what happened with the cocaine in the White House, the people still want to know… why CNN aint publicize that, why?"
Another man wearing a New York Yankees cap told Fox News Digital, "Why they ain't making no news about it? It's not about being a racist, you know I was a Democrat for long [time], but I had to research and start seeing things and I started to come to a clear perception and said, ‘Nah, Donald Trump is right.’"
"You don't have to agree with him about everything but one thing you can say… he love to take care of the people, he love people," the man added.
"Because he's doing everything for us," a woman outside the courtroom told Fox News Digital when asked why she believes Trump is a "good president."
Another man told Fox News Digital he thinks Democrats are "desperate" and "losing their s---."
"They're losing their composure and they're just so scared that he might be elected they're just losing their stuff totally," the man, who was holding an American flag, added.
When asked what the outcome of the trial will be, the man said, "His ratings will go up, we have a Constitution, so sooner or later, whatever at first happens will be overturned, so thank God we're a constitutional republic."
The man said he "wouldn't be surprised" if Trump was convicted in the New York City case, but the "consensus seems to be a hung jury."
"It shows that it's fragile," the man said about how this trial reflects the criminal justice system in the United States. "Half the country doesn't realize that we have a constitutional republic, and they think that the quote ‘majority' should make the laws and that's not the way it works. The Constitution supersedes the majority."
Fox News' Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.
Jury delivers note to judge amid deliberations
Former President Donald Trump and defense team and the prosecution walked back into the courtroom late Wednesday after the jury delivered a note to the judge.
The note came in at 2:56 p.m. The jury made four evidence requests; David Pecker's testimony regarding phone conversation with Trump, Pecker's testimony about his decision not to fund Karen McDougal’s life rights, Pecker's testimony on the Trump Tower meeting and Cohen's testimony on the Trump Tower meeting.
The jury will be brought back into the court room for the requested testimony to be read back to them.
Here are the top 5 biggest moments from Trump's NY trial
Former President Trump's New York criminal trial is nearing its end as the jury deliberates Wednesday, but the proceedings have been a roller coaster for weeks.
The trial began April 15, and the former president has railed against the prosecutors, Judge Juan Merchan and some of the witnesses throughout the process. Here are some of the biggest moments over the past few weeks.
Michael Cohen admits to stealing from the Trump Org
Ex-lawyer Michael Cohen was the "star witness" for the prosecution, testifying that he had been the middleman for hush money payments from Trump to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Cohen admitted in testimony on May 20 that he stole thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization by overstating how much he paid a tech company that provided services for the Trump Organization.
Stormy Daniels' testimony backfires
Daniels testified earlier in the trial about her affair with Trump, telling the court that he paid her off to keep quiet.
Her testimony went into vulgar detail about her interactions with Trump, and many commentators – even those critical of the former president – thought it was a disaster for the prosecution.
Judge threatens Trump with jail time over gag order
Much of the drama in the trial has centered on Judge Juan Merchan's gag order against Trump, which prevents the former president from criticizing witnesses.
Merchan sided with prosecutors when they accused him of violating the gag order multiple times. The judge fined Trump $9,000 – $1,000 for each violation – and warned him that further violations could result in jail time.
Judge shuts down Trump's motion for a mistrial
Trump’s defense attorneys moved for a mistrial amid Daniels’ testimony, arguing it had been prejudicial.
Merchan said a mistrial was not warranted and that he was doing everything he could to control the witness, including once objecting to Daniels' testimony himself.
Biden campaign sends Robert De Niro to Trump's trial
Actor Robert De Niro crashed Trump's trial in an appearance with President Biden's campaign outside the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday.
De Niro railed against Trump, arguing he would destroy the country if he gains office in 2024.
This update is from an excerpt of an article by Fox News' Anders Hagstrom.
Trump laments jury instructions, praises Justice Samuel Alito for refusal to recuse himself
Former President Donald Trump, citing legal scholars and other experts, said Wednesday that the jury instructions given by Judge Juan Merchan are some of the "most biased and unfair in Judicial History."
"According to the Legal Scholars and Experts, the Jury Instructions, given by a highly Conflicted Judge, will go down as the most biased and unfair in Judicial History," the former president wrote in a post to Truth Social. "Biden Witch Hunt. Election Interference!!
Trump's comments, which came from inside the court building as the jury continued deliberations Wednesday, come as Judge Merchan gave controversial juror instructions, telling jurors they can satisfy the "unlawful means" element of Trump's alleged crime with three different possibilities, noting that the jurors did not have to unanimously agree on which possibility met the criteria to reach a conviction.
In another post to Truth Social, the former president commended Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for showing "courage" in telling Congress he won't recuse himself from former President Trump's immunity case or other cases relating to the 2020 presidential election or the Jan. 6 Capitol protests.
"Congratulations to United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for showing the INTELLIGENCE, COURAGE, and 'GUTS' to refuse stepping aside from making a decision on anything January 6th related. All U.S. Judges, Justices, and Leaders should have such GRIT - Our Country would be far more advanced than its current status as A BADLY FAILING NATION, headed by the Worst President in American History, Crooked Joe Biden," Trump wrote.
Trump's comments on Alito came after the high court justice penned letters to lawmakers in the House and Senate responding to concerns about the flying of an upside-down American flag outside his home in Virginia, and an "Appeal to Heaven" flag at a vacation home in New Jersey.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is among those who have called on Alito to recuse himself from such cases following a revelation that an upside-down flag was flown at his home in Virginia a week after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
"Flying an upside-down American flag – a symbol of the so-called ‘Stop the Steal’ movement – clearly creates the appearance of bias," Durbin said in a statement.
Fox News' Michael Lee and Greg Norman contributed to this update.
What happens if Trump is convicted? Legal experts break it down
A Manhattan jury began deliberations Wednesday in former President Trump's New York criminal trial.
A guilty verdict in the historic case could have far-reaching consequences for the 2024 presidential election and upend criminal case law in New York, while a not guilty verdict would give Trump ammunition in a potential lawsuit for malicious prosecution, legal experts told Fox News Digital.
"It seems this is an all-or-nothing case, assuming arguendo there is a verdict and not a hung jury," said Trey Gowdy, "Sunday Night in America" host and a former federal prosecutor.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Gowdy, who has been in the New York City courtroom where Trump's case will be decided, said it was unlikely for the jury to find Trump guilty on some charges but not others.
"I cannot foresee a verdict with some counts as guilty and others as not. Unless there is a lesser included misdemeanor charge, in which case there perhaps could be a series of convictions for felony and misdemeanor counts," he said.
Louis Gelormino, a Staten Island defense attorney, agreed that the jury would render the same verdict on all counts "because all the felonies are pretty much the same."
"They're just different instances of the same felony," he told Fox News Digital.
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.