Jury begins deliberations in Trump criminal hush-money trial
Al Jazeera
Trump has been charged with 34 felony courts of falsifying business records and pay adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.
Jurors in New York have begun closed-door deliberations that will determine whether Donald Trump will be the first former US president in history convicted of a crime.
Trump, 77, has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to a $130,000 hush-money payment that his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 election.
Justice Juan Merchan on Wednesday issued instructions to the jurors on the law governing the case and what they can take into account in evaluating the former president’s guilt or innocence.
“I direct you to decide this case on the evidence and the law,” Merchan said. “You must set aside any personal opinions or bias you might have in favour of or against the defendant.”
The 12 jurors have sat silently in a New York courtroom for more than six weeks as prosecutors laid out their case and Trump’s lawyers tried to knock it down.
