Jury Deliberations in Donald Trump’s New York Hush Money Trial: Day One Recap

The jury in Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has completed its first day of deliberations without reaching a verdict. After more than four-and-a-half hours of deliberation, the 12 men and women will reconvene on Thursday morning to continue their discussions. During their deliberations, the jury requested to hear a readback of four separate parts of witness testimony, including testimony from former National Enquirer chief David Pecker and Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen.

The testimony the jurors are focusing on relates to interactions Trump had directly with Pecker, including discussions about the McDougal story and the 2015 Trump Tower meeting. The jury will ultimately decide whether a former president is convicted of felony crimes for the first time in American history, all while Trump is running against President Joe Biden for reelection this November.

Judge Juan Merchan spent an hour instructing the jury on the 34 felony counts against Trump for falsifying business records over hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Merchan reminded jurors to set aside their biases and be fair and impartial in their decision-making process.

As the deliberations continue, Trump and his attorneys remain in the courthouse in downtown Manhattan to be ready for any additional notes or requests from the jury. The jurors have been provided with a laptop containing all the evidence in the trial, although it does not have internet access. Additionally, the six alternate jurors have been asked to remain on standby in case they need to replace one of the 12 jurors. Stay tuned for updates as the trial progresses.