NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – The jury in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has reached a series of guilty verdicts after signaling a highly anticipated culmination of the first criminal case against a former American president.
The verdict from the 12-person jury was delivered Thursday in the Manhattan courtroom where prosecutors spent weeks presenting allegations that Trump participated in a hush money scheme aimed at suppressing stories he feared could be harmful to his 2016 presidential campaign. The jury found him guilty on all 34 counts he faced.
Reporters in the courtroom said that Trump stared directly at each one of the jurors as they confirmed their verdict one by one. None of them met his gaze, reporters noted.
Trump immediately affirmed that he will appeal the verdict. "I'm a very innocent man," he said after the verdict, blaming President Joe Biden for the trial and adding that's he's fighting for the Constitution.
4:30 P.M. - Jury in Donald Trump’s hush money case has reached a verdict, asks for additional 30 minutes to fill out form
The jury sent Judge Merchan a note signed at 4:20 p.m. “We the jury have a verdict. We would like an extra 30 minutes to fill out forms,” read the note.
4:15 P.M. - Judge Merchan says he’ll excuse the jury for the day at 4:30 P.M.
Jurors will continue deliberating until 4:30 p.m. and then, if they haven’t reached a verdict, will be sent home for the day and resume their work on Friday.
Trump walked into the courtroom at 4:12 pm. Pooler shouted to him in the hall: "Mr. Trump are you nervous about a verdict?"
Trump briefly stopped, turned to the cameras and said: "I want to campaign."
3 P.M. - For whom the bell tolls
As deliberations wear on, it’s a bit of the old adage “hurry up and wait” at the courthouse.
With the jury working in secret in a separate room, and Trump and his team holed up elsewhere in the building, reporters remain in the courtroom waiting for word — or rather the sound — of a new development.
Each time the jury has a question — and eventually if it reaches a verdict — it must send a note to the judge. They signal this by ringing a bell that blares in the courtroom. The sound is akin to that of an old telephone or alarm clock.
So far Thursday, the bell hasn’t rung at all after tolling twice within an hour on Wednesday.
That’s made for a somewhat surreal scene in the normally bustling Manhattan courtroom. The front of the room where the action happens is empty, save for a few court officers and staff. No judge, no prosecutors, no defense team, no former president and certainly no jurors.
The room that reverberated with dramatic testimony and tense arguments over the last six weeks is now eerily quiet, save for the clicks of laptop keys and the din of chatter among reporters and members of the public sitting, watching and waiting for the bell to ring.
2 P.M. - TV networks vamp for time during the wait for the Donald Trump verdict
Jury deliberation means tense, ultimately boring hours of waiting for lawyers, journalists and others at the Manhattan courtroom where Trump’s hush money trial is being held.
It’s the same for television networks covering the case — except they have hours of time to fill for viewers. Rather than switch to something else, they have largely stuck close to the courthouse.
The New York accents of court reporters reading testimony. A juror’s facial expression. And tea leaves — plenty of tea leaves.
11:30 A.M. -- Jurors are sent to resume deliberations
Jurors have been sent to resume deliberations in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial after rehearing testimony from key witnesses.
The 12 jurors reheard portions of testimony given by former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker as well as Michael Cohen.
The jury deliberated for about 4 1/2 hours Wednesday without reaching a verdict. Before day’s end, they asked to rehear testimony from the tabloid publisher, and Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer. On Thursday morning, the judge responded to a jury request by rereading 30 pages of jury instructions related to how inferences may be drawn from evidence.
Trump faces 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
A guilty verdict would deliver a stunning legal reckoning for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee as Trump seeks to reclaim the White House.
10:30 A.M. -- Jury rehears portions of testimony from National Enquirer publisher
After roughly a half hour of rehearing some of the judge’s legal instructions, jurors in Donald Trump's hush-money trial listened to something else they requested: portions of testimony from former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
Court stenographers reread both witnesses’ testimony about an August 2015 Trump Tower meeting at which Pecker agreed to publish articles that favored then-candidate Trump and assailed his opponents and to serve as the campaign’s “eyes and ears” for potentially damaging stories and rumors so they could be suppressed.
The jury also asked to rehear Pecker’s testimony about a phone call he says he had with Trump about a hush money deal that the National Enquirer’s parent company made with former Playboy model Karen McDougal, and about Pecker’s his decision not to sell the rights to McDougal’s story to Trump.
She claimed she had an affair with Trump, which he denies.
9:30 A.M. - Trump enters the courtroom
Trump has entered the courtroom. His son Eric is present today, along with attorney Alina Habba and advisor Boris Epshteyn, accompanied by a few others.
Speaking to reporters before entering the courtroom for jury deliberations, Trump read out comments from pundits critiquing the case.
The former president often does this before and after court, reading off pieces of paper and interspersing the quotes with his own thoughts.
Trump hit on some other familiar themes, citing poll numbers and comparing the police presence near the Manhattan courthouse to those at recent protests on college campuses.
“We’ll be here, it looks like a long time,” he said before heading to the courtroom.
9 A.M. - What a guilty verdict could mean for Trump
A guilty verdict would deliver a stunning legal reckoning for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee as he seeks to reclaim the White House while an acquittal would represent a major win for Trump and embolden him on the campaign trail.
Since verdicts must be unanimous, it’s also possible the case ends in a mistrial if the jury can’t reach a consensus after days of deliberations.
8:45 A.M. - What key witnesses like David Pecker, Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen testified on the stand
Here’s a reminder of some key witnesses and what they had to say at Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York.
David Pecker: Pecker was the publisher of the National Enquirer and chief executive of its parent company, American Media Inc., during the 2016 presidential campaign. Pecker told the jury he agreed to be the “eyes and ears” of Trump’s campaign, looking out for damaging stories so they could be suppressed.
Stormy Daniels: The porn actor, writer and director, gave a detailed and at times graphic account of a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump in Nevada in 2006.Michael Cohen: Cohen, a flawed but vital prosecution witness, testified about working with the National Enquirer to suppress negative stories about Trump.
8:30 A.M. - Who is on the jury?
The jury consists of seven men and five women from various parts of Manhattan, including the Upper East Side, Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen, and the West Village, according to the Guardian.
Juror No. 1 is a married man working in sales, with some college education, who gets news from sources like the New York Times and Fox News.
Juror No. 2 is a married investment banker with an MBA in finance who follows the news widely and is aware of Trump’s posts on Truth Social.
Juror No. 3 is a corporate lawyer in his late 20s or early 30s, originally from the west coast, who reads the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
Juror No. 4, a security engineer from the west coast, is married with children and has served on a criminal jury before.
Juror No. 5 is a young woman who avoids the news but appreciates Trump’s candor.
Juror No. 6 works in tech, is unmarried with no children, and gets news from sources like the New York Times and TikTok.
Juror No. 7 is a late middle-aged civil litigator, married with children, who follows various news outlets and podcasts.
Juror No. 8 is a retired wealth manager, married with children, who admitted to having strong opinions about Trump but can be fair.
Juror No. 9 is a woman from New Jersey, living alone, not well-versed in legal proceedings, and does not closely follow the news.
Juror No. 10 is an e-commerce worker from Ohio who listens to podcasts on behavioral psychology but doesn’t check the news often.
Juror No. 11, originally from California, watches late-night comedy shows and has a friend convicted of financial fraud.
Juror No. 12 is a physical therapist who has lived in several states before New York and listens to sports and faith podcasts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.