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| President Trump |
Jurors in Donald Trump's legal expenses trial return for a second day of deliberations Thursday, applying extra scrutiny to a pair of high-profile witnesses as they weigh the fate of the first U.S. president to be charged with a crime.
It was unclear when the 12 jurors and six alternates would reach a verdict that could potentially upend Trump's hopes of recapturing the White House from Democrat President Joe Biden as the Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 election.
A conviction will not prevent Trump from campaigning for the presidency. Nor will it prevent him from taking office if he wins the election.
Jurors have asked Justice Juan Merchan to repeat the detailed instructions he had given them to guide their deliberations.
New York prosecutors have charged Trump, 77, with falsifying business documents after paying lawyer Michael Cohen for legal services for his $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies wrongdoing, saying it was a legal expense.
Jurors appeared to be taking a close look at the testimony of star witness Michael Cohen, the estranged former Trump fixer who paid Daniels so she would not be used by Democrats to block Trump from the White House in the 2016 presidential election.
Daniels was ready to come forward with 2006 sexual encounter allegations against Trump at the height of the #metoo movement to help Democrats tarnish Trump's candidate in an October surprise. Trump denies ever having sex with Daniels.
Cohen, a convicted perjurer, claimed Trump discussed a plan to reimburse him through monthly payments disguised as legal fees – the alleged conduct that spurred the criminal charges.
Jurors have asked Merchan for a transcript of portions of Cohen's testimony.
They also asked Merchan for testimony from David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid, who had told jurors he worked with Trump to suppress stories that might have hurt the businessman-turned-politician's campaign.
Trump's lawyers have said Cohen's testimony is unreliable, pointing to his criminal record and a history of lying. Merchan also told jurors they needed to scrutinize his testimony carefully because he was an accomplice to the acts he described.
Prosecutors have said emails and other evidence support Cohen's testimony.
Jurors must reach any verdict unanimously. If they cannot resolve their differences, Merchan can order a mistrial.
Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office face the burden of proving Trump's guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt," the standard under U.S. law.
Opinion polls show Trump and Biden locked in a tight race. But Reuters/Ipsos polling has found a guilty verdict could cost Trump support.
Trump faces up to four years in prison if found guilty, but those found guilty of the crime he is charged with are more often fined or given probation.
Trump faces three other criminal prosecutions, but they are not expected to go to trial before the November election. He has pleaded not guilty in all of them.
Newsmax's Eric Mack contributed to this Reuters report.
© 2024 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.
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