After Judge Juan Merchan told the courtroom the jury would be dismissed at 4:30 p.m., the expectation was that the jurors would resume their deliberations on Friday.
Donald Trump was saying “Thank you” to the court staff and his demeanor was the most relaxed since jury selection.
Then word came that the jurors, who had been deliberating for nearly 12 hours over two days, had reached a verdict and they asked for 30 minutes to fill out their forms.
If you are just joining us, here’s what you missed:
Guilty: The former president was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records. The counts stemmed from 11 invoices, 12 vouchers and 11 checks that make up Trump’s monthly reimbursement payments to Michael Cohen who fronted the $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Acquittal denied: Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche moved for an acquittal of the charges, notwithstanding the verdict. The judge denied the motion.
Sentencing date: Merchan set a sentencing date for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention, which is set to begin on July 15.
Trump’s reaction: Trump stared straight ahead during the verdict reading and when the acquittal motion was denied. Frowning, the former president grabbed his son Eric’s hand and shook it rapidly, before starting to walk out of the courtroom. Trump was red in the face, and both father and son looked upset.
Trump spoke: Outside the courtroom, Trump called the hush money trial against him a “disgrace” and a “rigged trial.”
“We didn’t do a thing wrong. I’m a very innocent man,” Trump said.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, said the “real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people,” referring to the general election.
