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Jury reaches verdict in Trump hush-money trial
Hello, and welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of Donald Trump’s historic criminal hush-money trial.
A jury of 12 people living in Manhattan – seven men and five women – have completed deliberations and reached a verdict in the first criminal case against a former US president.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, charges punishable by up to four years in prison. Here are the full details of what the 34 counts are, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
If Trump is found guilty, the presumptive GOP presidential candidate faces the prospect of jail – albeit unlikely – when he’s sentenced. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
Trump also faces three other criminal cases: one for trying to influence the 2020 election in Georgia, another for his conduct around the January 6 Capitol attack, and a third involving his treatment of sensitive documents after he left the White House. These other three cases have been pushed back and it’s unlikely that any would conclude before the November election.
Trump’s criminal hush-money trial: what to know
A ‘catch-and-kill’ scheme and Trump’s pyjamas: key trial moments
Who is Juan Merchan, the judge in Trump’s criminal trial?
We are at the courthouse today and will bring you the verdicts as they come in. Stay with us.
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When judge Juan Merchan entered the courtroom just before 4.30pm ET, most of those present thought that proceedings had wrapped for the day.
Indeed, about a half hour prior, Merchan entered the courtroom and told both the prosecution and defense that he was going to send the jury home at 4.30 pm.
When he returned at about 4.37 pm, there was news.
The court had received a note from the jury, which read: “WE THE JURY HAVE A VERDICT.”
When Merchan read the note aloud, the gallery collectively gasped.
Donald Trump was pictured returning to the courtroom this afternoon before judge Juan Merchan read out the jury’s note.
Per the pool report, Trump was asked whether he was nervous about the verdict. He replied:
I want to campaign.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg has entered the courtroom.
Before the jury began deliberations late Wednesday morning, judge Juan Merchan delivered instructions intended to guide them on how to weigh the case.
Merchan said that jurors shouldn’t look to his comments during the trial as suggesting that Donald Trump was innocent or guilty. He said:
It is not my responsibility to judge the evidence here. You are the judgers of the facts.
Merchan also told jurors that they should not consider Trump possibly winding up in jail when rendering their verdict. He said:
You may not speculate with matters related to sentencing or punishment.
The judge remarked that it’s “my responsibility” to determine a possible sentence – not jurors.
Who is judge Juan Merchan?
When a verdict comes down in Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial, all eyes will be on the Manhattan judge Juan Merchan, who has presided over the historic case.
After all, Trump has been the first US president, former or present, to face a criminal trial. And before Trump faced a jury in this case, Merchan oversaw other proceedings directly tied to the presumptive GOP presidential candidate.
Those cases included the tax-fraud trial against the Trump Organization and proceedings against the former company CFO Allen Weisselberg. Merchan also will preside over the case against Steve Bannon over allegations that the far-right Trump strategist cheated thousands who donated to build sections of a US-Mexico border wall, scheduled for trial in September.
Merchan, who was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and immigrated to the US at age six, grew up in the New York City borough of Queens. The first in his family to attend college, he started working at nine and held a variety of jobs, such as hotel night manager, during his studies, according to the New York Times.
Merchan’s past high-profile cases have included proceedings against the “soccer-mom madam” Anna Gristina. He also presides over Manhattan Mental Health Court, where participating defendants agree to undergo closely tracked treatment with the goal of having their cases dismissed, avoiding future encounters with the justice system and finding their footing, the Associated Press said.
Read the full profile: Who is Juan Merchan, the judge in Trump’s criminal hush-money trial?
Jury asks for extra time to fill out verdict forms
Judge Juan Merchan, reading out a note signed at 4.20pm ET, said the jury had reached a verdict.
The jury asked for an additional 30 minutes to fill out verdict forms, Merchan said.
If guilty, what would Trump's punishment be?
Sam Levine
If a Manhattan jury convicts Donald Trump on any of the 34 counts of falsifying business records in the hush-money case, the immediate next question will be what punishment the former president should receive.
It’s a decision that rests entirely with Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case. The crime Trump is charged with, falsifying business records in the first degree, is a class E felony in New York, the least serious category, and punishable by up to four years in prison.
But Trump is unlikely to be sentenced to prison if he is convicted, experts say. He is a first-time offender, and the crime he is charged with is a non-violent paper crime. Any punishment is likely to consist of fines, probation, community service or some combination of those.
Much could depend on how Merchan interprets Trump’s conduct, including any lack of remorse.
The jury won’t have the option of convicting Trump of a misdemeanor – of falsifying business records but not in service of another underlying crime. Trump’s attorneys could have asked Merchan to give the jury that option, but they did not do so.
Both the prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers will submit recommendations for sentencing. So too will the probation office, which will put together a confidential pre-sentencing report for the judge. It’s not clear exactly how long it would take for Merchan to issue a sentence, but it would likely take several months.
Jury reaches verdict in Trump hush-money trial
Hello, and welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of Donald Trump’s historic criminal hush-money trial.
A jury of 12 people living in Manhattan – seven men and five women – have completed deliberations and reached a verdict in the first criminal case against a former US president.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, charges punishable by up to four years in prison. Here are the full details of what the 34 counts are, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
If Trump is found guilty, the presumptive GOP presidential candidate faces the prospect of jail – albeit unlikely – when he’s sentenced. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
Trump also faces three other criminal cases: one for trying to influence the 2020 election in Georgia, another for his conduct around the January 6 Capitol attack, and a third involving his treatment of sensitive documents after he left the White House. These other three cases have been pushed back and it’s unlikely that any would conclude before the November election.
Trump’s criminal hush-money trial: what to know
A ‘catch-and-kill’ scheme and Trump’s pyjamas: key trial moments
Who is Juan Merchan, the judge in Trump’s criminal trial?
We are at the courthouse today and will bring you the verdicts as they come in. Stay with us.
English (US) ·