What you need to know
- Happening now: Court reporters are reading back witness testimonyfrom Michael Cohen and David Pecker, a request submitted by the jury during deliberations. Judge Juan Merchan re-read portions of his jury instructions in court earlier.
- The panel of 12 New Yorkers will determine whether Donald Trump is guilty of 34 felony charges of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to an adult film star before the 2016 election. The jury must be unanimous in its decision. Here’s a recap of what both sides presented in the trial.
- Trump, who also faces three other criminal cases while running again for president, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A felony conviction of a former president and presumptive GOP nominee would be unprecedented.
Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom during proceedings. CNN reporters are inside providing the latest live updates in the posts below.
Fact Check: Trump’s false claim that the judge isn’t requiring a unanimous verdict
Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed Wednesday that Judge Juan Merchan “is not requiring a unanimous decision on the fake charges against me.”
Trump made the claim in a social media post in which he described Merchan’s supposed position as “RIDICULOUS, UNCONSTITUTIONAL, AND UNAMERICAN.” He was echoing assertions that had been circulating among conservatives after Fox News anchor John Roberts wrote on social media earlier on Wednesday that “Judge Merchan just told the jury that they do not need unanimity to convict.”
Facts First: Trump’s claim inaccurately depicts what Merchan said.
Merchan told the jury in his instructions on Wednesday that their verdict “must be unanimous” on each of the 34 counts that Trump faces and that, to convict Trump of felony falsification of business records, they would have to unanimously agree that he falsified business records with the intent to commit, aid or conceal another crime – that other crime being a violation of a New York election law.
Prosecutors provided three theories of what unlawful means Trump used. Merchan told the jury: “Although you must conclude unanimously that the defendant conspired to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means, you need not be unanimous as to what those unlawful means were. In determining whether the defendant conspired to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means, you may consider the following: (1) violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act otherwise known as FECA; (2) the falsification of other business records; or (3) violation of tax laws.”
Lee Kovarsky, a University of Texas law professor who has been following the trial, put it this way on social media on Wednesday: “If a law says NO VEHICLES IN THE PARK & list of vehicles includes mopeds and motorcycles, all the instruction means is that you need unanimous conclusion of vehicle but not unanimous on whether vehicle was moped or harley.”
