Judge Juan Merchan has dismissed the jury for the day in Trump’s hush money trial.
Merchan ruled jury deliberations will start again at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.
Merchan further informed attorneys that they must remain in the courtroom until they reach a consensus on the transcript to be reviewed the following day.
Per CNN:
Judge Juan Merchan said he has dismissed the jury for the day. Deliberations will start again at 9:30 a.m. ET tomorrow, he said.
Merchan tells the attorneys they can’t leave the courtroom until they agree on the transcript that will be read back tomorrow.
In his instructions before the jury’s verdict, Judge Juan Merchan informed jurors that unanimity on the underlying “predicate” crime isn’t necessary to convict former President Donald J. Trump of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The judge explicitly mentioned that jurors could evenly split 4-4-4 on determining which crime underlies the charges. To prosecute the former Republican President, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg needed to establish an underlying crime linked to the 34 counts, which had exceeded the statute of limitations. Moreover, this underlying “predicate” crime, required to be a felony, elevates the falsifying records charges from misdemeanors to felonies.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution didn’t directly present a case regarding the underlying crime, crucial for their entire prosecution. Apparently, the federal crime Bragg’s team alludes to is a campaign finance violation. Nevertheless, the Department of Justice under President Biden never pursued the charge, and the Federal Election Commission never imposed fines on Trump or his campaign for any alleged violation concerning payments made to Stormy Daniels through Michael Cohen.