Preparing for a possible conviction, Trump and his team remain optimistic it doesn’t hurt him in election
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
As the juryis set to begin deliberating today, former President Donald Trump and his team are preparing for a possible conviction in his criminal New York hush money case. While there remains hope for a hung jury, legal advisers have privately warned Trump and his team to prepare for a possible conviction in the case.
Privately, Trump has asked allies what they think the outcome will be, while complaining that the trial is rigged against him. The former president has speculated that he will be convicted, citing the judge’s jury instructions as well as the fact the jury is comprised of residents of Manhattan, given the area’s liberal lean.
Despite the potential outcome, Trump’s advisers remains largely confident that the former president, his team and high profile Republicans have done the work in laying the groundwork in their messaging that the case was political from the start and that Trump was not ever going to get a fair trial. While advisers acknowledge that this is uncharted territory, ultimately, because of this messaging, they do not believe there will be a big impact on the general election in November.
“It’s all the about the messaging—pre-trial, during the trial and then after the trial,” one source close to Trump told CNN. “(The messaging) is only enhanced if there’s a conviction.”
Trump’s advisers said they didn’t believe that a potential conviction would dramatically impact Trump’s poll numbers and overall standing in the race. While noting that it was likely that some voters may decide they will not vote for him if he is convicted, they do not think that number of voters is sizable enough to have a real impact.
This optimistic posture from those close to Trump is starkly different from eight months ago, when advisers privately worried that a conviction in any of the cases against Trump could have the power to tank his third presidential bid. Advisers cited theformer president’s consistent poll numbers despite the ongoing legal peril as well as the current state of the economy as reasons for the now-rosier outlook.
“The core issue voters care about continues to be inflation. Whether or not Donald Trump is convicted doesn’t change that,” the source said.
Analysis: Why prosecutors wanted broader jury instructions, according to lawyers
From CNN's Elise Hammond
How the jury will hear its instructions before going to deliberate is very important in this case, CNN commentators and former prosecutors say.
Donald Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the payment to Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt thatTrump falsified business records with the intent to commit or conceal another crime— but they didn't have to prove that Trump committed that crime.
“I’vealways thought the mostdifficult part of this case forthe prosecution to prove isthat connection to anyunderlying crime that they haveto show that Donald Trump wasintending to violate by falsifying records,” said Carrie Cordero, the former counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
The presence of an underlying crime is what makes these charges felonies, instead of misdemeanors, she said.
Shan Wu, a former federal prosecutor, also emphasized the importance of jury instruction in this trial.
“The more broad that juryinstruction is, which is theway that the judge is going,the easier it is for them tomake that connection evidentiary,” Wu told CNN, referring to the connection between falsifying the business records and a second underlying crime.
The defense and prosecution hashed out jury instructions last week. Here's what they debated
From CNN's Christina Zdanowicz
The defense and prosecution debated jury instructions during the charge conference last week, discussing the language around intent, an alleged conspiracy and more.
Both sides received the final jury instructions from Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday last week, a source familiar confirmed. These are instructions that will be read to the jury today.
Here are the key points from last week's proceeding:
Alleged conspiracy:The parties debated language about the jury's requirement to find the prosecutors proved that Donald Trump participated in an alleged conspiracy to undermine the 2016 election. The prosecution argued that Trump’s meeting with former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker at Trump Tower in 2015 went toward Trump’s participation in the conspiracy, while the defense called the meeting a “series of pretty standard campaign activities that were not criminal.”
Remember:Trump wasfirst indicted in March 2023by the Manhattan district attorney on state charges related to a hush-money payment to an adult film star in 2016. Prosecutors allege Trump was a part of an illegal conspiracy tounderminethe integrity of the 2016 election. Further, they allege he was part of an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, including the $130,000 payment.Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Intent:Originally, the defense proposed a second line about intent, which meant people must establish beyond a reasonable doubt two separate intents, the intent to defraud and the intent to commit or conceal the aid of another crime. Due to concerns with this section, Judge Juan Merchan opted to keep the standard, criminal jury instructions language around the issue of intent.
Here are some other topics discussed around jury instructions:
- Both sides debated instructions aroundtax crimesrelating to Cohen testifying that former Trump Organization Chief Financial OfficerAllen Weisselbergwas “grossing up” the money Cohen was paid.
- The defense asked the judge to instruct the jury thathush moneyis not illegal. Merchan said he doesn't think it's necessary, as that came out in testimony.
- Merchan said he thought hislimiting instructionson Cohen’s guilty plea, American Media Inc.'s non-prosecution agreement and others “were appropriate” and that he would give the same instruction he did during the trial.
- There was a debate around New York legal precedent on ifretainer agreementsare required between an attorney and a client. The judge said he would look into this and get back to them.
Asking for another deviation:Defense attorney Emil Bove requested another deviation from the standard criminal jury instructions language when he asked the judge to be as specific as possible when describing the statutes as they are applied in this case, noting there wasn’t much of a precedent.
“What you’re asking me to do is change the law and I'm not going to do that,” Merchan said.
Jurors are expected to receive their instructions this morning
Judge Juan Merchan told jurors he would give them their instructions this morning.
Merchan previously said his jury instructions would take about an hour.
Yesterday's closing arguments: Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass addressed the jury for more than 4.5 hours on Tuesday, rehashing much of the evidence presented at trial.
He told the jury the prosecution has proved Trump had intent to commit, aid, or conceal a violation of the election law and he paid Stormy Daniels' hush money because of the 2016 election.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche addressed the jury for just under three hours, maintaining Donald Trump is innocent and slamming Michael Cohen's credibility.
CNN's Laura Dolan contributed reporting to this post.
Prosecution and defense teams received jury instructions last week
From CNN's Lauren Del Valle
The prosecution and defense teams received the final jury instructions from Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday last week, a source familiar confirmed.
These are instructions that will be read to the jury today.
Analysis: Judgment day looms for Donald Trump in New York
From CNN'sStephen Collinson
Donald Trump, who built a mystique as the brash epitome of power, has never been more powerless to dictate his own fate.
His reputation, future, and even perhaps the White House’s destiny, will on Wednesday be placedin the hands of 12 citizensof his native New York City, proving that not even once-and-possibly future commanders in chief are above the law.
Seven men and five women jurors will retire for deliberations onTrump’s six-week hush money trialafter Judge Juan Merchan instructs them on the law and their duties.
No jury in American history has faced such a task — deciding whether a former president and presumptive major party nominee will be convicted of a crime.
And while the jury, which can deliberate for as long as it needs, is bound to decide its verdict on 34 felony charges on the testimony and evidence in the case alone, its decision will reverberate across the nation and the world at a critical moment of the 2024 presidential election.
The defense argues these 10 points should give jurors reasonable doubt
Throughout his presentation, defense attorney Todd Blanche continued to raise the concept of reasonable doubt with the jury – even punctuating the conclusion of his closing argument with “10 reasons” why jurors should have reasonable doubt about the case.
Here's the full list, according to Blanche:
- Michael Cohen created the invoices.
- There's no evidence Trump knew the invoices were sent.
- There was "absolutely" no evidence of any intent to defraud.
- There was no attempt to commit or conceal another crime.
- There was "absolutely" no agreement to influence the 2016 election.
- AMI, the owner of the National Enquirer, would have run the doorman's story no matter what if it was true.
- Karen McDougal did not want her story published.
- Stormy Daniels' story was already public in 2011.
- There was manipulation of evidence.
- Michael Cohen. "He's the human embodiment of reasonable doubt."
As trial enters final phase, Trump must still adhere to judge's gag order
From CNN staff
Ahead of the hush money trial, Judge Juan Merchan imposed a gag order on Donald Trump which blocks him from speaking out about potential witnesses and most people in or associated with the court or the New York district attorney’s office.
In that initial order — imposed in March — Merchan also said thatTrump can’t make statements about attorneys, court staff or the family members of prosecutors or lawyers intended to interfere with the case. Trump is also barred from making statements about any potential or actual juror.
The ruling also prevents Trump from criticizing his former attorney, Michael Cohen, or adult film star Stormy Daniels, both witnesses in the trial.
The former president, Merchan said in his order, has a history of making “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating” statements against people at all levels of the justice system, including jurors. The order does not prevent Trump from talking about New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is a public figure, or Merchan himself.
The gag order was imposed after Trump repeatedly attacked the district attorney’s case and those involved with it ahead of what would be the first criminal trial of a former president. Trump criticized Merchan, his daughter and one of Bragg’s prosecutors in the hours before Merchan issued his order in March.
Since then, Trump has been fined for violating the order 10 times and the judge warned on May 6 that "this court will have to consider a jail sanction" if the former president violates it again. Merchan fined Trump $1,000 for the violation ruling on May 6. A week prior, thejudge fined Trump $9,000for nine previous violations of the judge’s gag order. Violations of the gag order are punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, by jail time of up to 30 days, or both.
During remarks before entering the courtroom for the trial's proceedings, Trump has repeatedly railed against the gag order and the case. He has also relied on allies to deliver attacks outside the court.
We are in the 7th week of Trump's hush money criminal trial. Here's what's already happened
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
We are in the seventh week of court proceedings in Donald Trump's historic hush money criminal trial.
To refresh your memory, here arethe key moments and witnessesfrom the trial so far:
April 15:Trial began with jury selection.
April 19:A panel of12 jurors and six alternateswas selected.
April 22:The prosecution and defense made their opening statements. Former tabloid boss David Pecker was called to testify.
April 23:Judge Juan Merchan held aSandoval hearingfor Trump's alleged gag order violations, but reserved his decision. Pecker continued his testimony.
April 25:While Trump sat in the Manhattan courtroom listening to Pecker's testimony, theSupreme Court in Washington, D.C., heard argumentson the matter of his immunity in special counsel Jack Smith's election subversion case against him.
April 26:Pecker's direct questioning and cross-examination concluded. Trump's former longtime assistant Rhona Graff was called to testify briefly. Michael Cohen's former banker Gary Farro was then called to the stand.
April 30:Farro's testimony concluded. Prosecutors then called Dr. Robert Browning, the executive director of C-SPAN archives, and Philip Thompson who works for a court reporting company.Then,Keith Davidson, the former attorney for Daniels and McDougal, took the stand. Also, Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for violating a gag order.
May 2:Davidson's testimony concluded. Digital evidence analystDouglas Dauswas called to testify.
May 3:After Daus finished testifying, Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal at the district attorney's office, spoke about reviewing Trump's social media posts for this case. She was followed by Hope Hicks, once a longtime Trump aide. Herhighly-anticipated testimonywas a little less than three hours.
May 6:Prosecutors calledtwo witnesseswho worked in accounting in the Trump Organization:Jeffrey McConney, a former Trump Org. controller, andDeborah Tarasoff, an accounts payable supervisor.
May 7:Prosecutors calledSally Franklin, the senior vice president and executive managing editor for Penguin Random House publishing group.After her testimony,Stormy Danielswas called to the stand.
May 9: Stormy Daniels finished her testimony, with the defense trying to undermine her credibility by pointing out inconsistencies in her story on cross-examination.
May 10: Former White House aide Madeleine Westerhout's testimony concluded. Then prosecution called several custodial witnesses to the stand.
May 13: Former Trump attorney and the prosecution's key witness, Michael Cohen, started testifying.
May 14: The prosecution completed direct questioning of Cohen and Trump's defense began cross-examination.
May 16: Trump's defense grilled Cohen, putting into question a key 2016 October call and asking him about the times he lied under oath.
May 20: Cohen wrapped up his testimony and the prosecution rested its case. The defense called its first witness, Daniel Sitko, a paralegal for defense attorney Todd Blanche. After a short round of questioning, the defense called up Robert Costello, a lawyer with a connection to Cohen.
May 21: Costello's testimony concluded. Then the defense rested its case without calling Trump to take the stand. The judge and attorneys for both sides also hashed out jury instructions.
May 28: Defense and prosecution presented their closing arguments. The court ran long on this day.
Read a full timeline of key momentshere.
