Where things stand in the hush money trial
- Court adjourned for the day after several hours of deliberations and will resume at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. Judge Juan Merchan and the attorneys for both parties continued to speak at length after the jury was dismissed at 4:06 p.m.
- While deliberations were underway, the jury sent two notes to the court requesting information related to the testimony of David Pecker and Michael Cohen. The jurors also asked to hear Merchan’s instructions again.
- During jury instructions, which took a little over an hour, Merchan explained the laws in question and reminded jurors to set aside any personal biases. He also noted that the defense is not required to prove former President Donald Trump's innocence and that the burden of proof is on the prosecution.
- Jurors were not given a written copy of the instructions, though they are permitted to ask for them to be read back if needed. Many of the jurors took diligent notes as Merchan spoke.
- The jury is discussing the 34 counts of falsified business records Trump faces in connection with a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels near the end of the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Coverage of this event has ended. Get the latest news and live updates on Trump's hush money trial here
Can Trump vote in November if he’s convicted of a felony in New York?
Trump could soon join the millions of Americans whose voting rights depend on their criminal records if the jury convicts him of felony charges.
But experts say Trump is unlikely to be disenfranchised by a felony conviction in the New York case, noting that it would come down to whether goes to prison as part of his sentence.
Biden campaign views Robert De Niro event as 'good moment'
A senior Biden campaign aide told NBC News that the campaign viewed yesterday’s news conference with Robert De Niro and former police officers Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone as effective (as measured by the news coverage it generated on networks and in nontraditional media).
It’s a crowded news cycle, the aide said, which means the campaign has to be creative tactically to break through. It was a “good moment” that came at the “apex moment of the trial.” And the aide emphasized that De Niro is a credible person.
Two campaign officials said they want to do more things to break through the Trump news cycle, recognizing that there has been wall-to-wall coverage of the trial.
It’s a tactic, per one of the officials, but not the only tactic, as evidenced by the event today with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris together in Philadelphia at one of the largest events of the cycle for their campaign to date.
A campaign aide bristled at the suggestion that bringing De Niro to the event proved the court proceedings were political, pointing out that the Trump campaign has been raising money off the case for months.
It's all part of a sustained effort to lay out the stakes of the election, per the officials, including a monthlong predebate communications strategy.
Biden expected to react once Trump trial ends, but it's unclear how
President Joe Biden is expected to react to the verdict in Trump’s hush money trials, but aides are still evaluating the best strategy and are holding off on finalizing any plan until the jury announces its decision, two people familiar with the discussions said.
Regardless of how he delivers his reaction, Biden plans to ask Americans to respect the jury’s decision, whether there is a hung jury, a conviction or an acquittal. Biden has long underscored the importance of upholding the “rule of law” and an independent justice system, which would most likely be the same broad message he would deliver after the trial concludes, these people said.
It’s unclear whether Biden would deliver remarks from the White House or elsewhere, depending on when a verdict comes in. Biden could also give an informal comment in response to a reporter’s question or issue a written statement.
NBC News reported last week on the Biden campaign’s plans to engage more aggressively when Trump’s trial ends, stressing to voters that his opponent will be on the ballot in the fall and that no potential court proceeding will change that fact. The Biden team is also expected to discuss whether to brand Trump as a “convicted felon” if the jury finds him guilty.
Before he left the White House this afternoon, Biden appeared to shrug when he was asked to weigh in on the jury deliberations.
Biden participated in campaign events in Philadelphia this afternoon before he headed to Wilmington, Delaware, where he will mark the ninth anniversary of his son Beau’s death tomorrow. He will then return to the White House on Friday to congratulate the Kansas City Chiefs on their Super Bowl victory.
Donald Trump Jr. posts TikTok video with former president from inside courthouse
Trump's son Donald Jr. posted a TikTok video showing the pair inside the courthouse and talking about "mean tweets."
Trump Jr. asked his dad to read one of the "mean tweets" he said they were "cranking out."
The former president declined, saying he thought he would "put it out instead of reading it" and praised his son's social media.
"I know my son is doing very well on social media," Trump said. "I’m proud of him."
"Stay tuned. It’ll be a doozy," Trump Jr. said of a social media post.
The pair appeared to have recorded the video from a type of holding room, not the courtroom.
Potential Trump VP contenders seize on jury instructions, call trial a 'sham' and 'rigged'
Several of Trump's potential vice presidential possibilities seized on the judge's wording in jury instructions, taking to social media to say they were evidence the jury is "rigged" or a "sham."
In a tweet, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem alleged that the jury instructions were “a direct violation” of existing case law about jury instructions.
Her tweet followed complaints elsewhere in conservative media that misrepresented the jury instructions. Merchan told the jurors that to reach a verdict, they don’t have to unanimously agree on what crime Trump was trying to cover up. They just have to agree he was trying to cover up a crime.
GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is one of the vice presidential contenders who misrepresented the instructions, saying on X, in part, that the judge told the jurors that "they don’t have to unanimously agree on which crime was committed as long as they all at least pick one. ... This is exactly the kind of sham trial used against political opponents of the regime in the old Soviet Union."
In a video, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said: "Donald Trump is not on trial. Donald Trump is the victim of a witch hunt."
Other tweets from people like Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., didn't refer to the jury instructions specifically, but they referred to the trial as "a preposterous case."
And Kari Lake, the GOP Senate nominee in Arizona, posted claims about the alleged political activity of the judge’s daughter before she called the trial "a bogus case."
Jury asked about Michael Cohen's testimony regarding Trump Tower meeting with National Enquirer publisher
In another request, the jury asked about Cohen’s testimony regarding a meeting with Pecker at Trump Tower to discuss what American Media Inc., the National Enquirer’s parent company, could do for the campaign.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Cohen what was discussed and what agreements were reached during the meeting. Cohen recounted Pecker's saying that "he could keep an eye out for anything negative about Mr. Trump and that he would be able to help us to know in advance what was coming out and try to stop it from coming out."
Cohen also testified that AMI previewed to him some of the stories that it planned to publish and that he said he would then show them to Trump.
Details of the jury's second request related to David Pecker's testimony
In its second request, the jury asked about Pecker’s testimony regarding life rights for Karen McDougal.
Steinglass had asked Pecker about a decision to renege on the agreement to sell McDougal’s life rights to the subject matter to Trump via a third party. American Media Inc., the National Enquirer’s parent company, had acquired the rights to the story.
Pecker said he shared the decision with Cohen in early October 2016.
"I called Michael Cohen, and I said to him that the agreement, the assignment deal, is off. I am not going forward. It is a bad idea, and I want you to rip up the agreement," Pecker said.
"He was very, very angry. Very upset. Screaming, basically, at me. And I said, 'I am not going forward with this agreement. Rip it up.' And he said, excuse me, Michael Cohen said, 'The Boss is going to be very angry at you.'"
Pecker also said AMI was never reimbursed for the money it paid to acquire the exclusive rights to McDougal’s story about her alleged affair with Trump.
Jury's first request related to David Pecker's testimony on Trump's 2016 phone call
The first of four requests outlined in the jury's note to Merchan sought Pecker’s testimony about a phone call with Trump during an investor meeting.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked for details about the timing of the call and what he and Trump talked about during the call, which Pecker said occurred in June 2016, according to a copy of the transcript.
Pecker said he had advised Trump to purchase the story related to Karen McDougal “and take it off the market.”
"I believed the story was true," Pecker said.
"I think that it would have been very embarrassing to himself and also to his campaign," Pecker added about Trump.
Trump said he doesn't buy those stories because they always get out, and he said he'd get back in touch, Pecker testified. Cohen called Pecker that day or the next day and told him he should buy the story, Pecker testified.
Trump rails against case in remarks outside courtroom
In brief remarks to the media after court adjourned for the day, Trump said it was unfair that he was not out campaigning but instead spending time in court.
He also reiterated his allegation that the trial is a "Biden witch hunt."
"It's a disgrace," he said of the trial.
Court adjourns for the day
Judge Merchan dismissed court for the day at 5:25 p.m.
Jurors will return to court tomorrow morning to continue deliberations.
