The jury in Donald Trump's New York trial asked to rehear testimony Wednesday less than four hours after beginning deliberations in the first criminal case against a former American president.
The four requests included testimony related to a 2015 meeting at Trump Tower where a tabloid publisher agreed to identify negative stories about Trump so that they could be squelched during his presidential run. Jurors wanted to hear accounts of that meeting from two participants — Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and personal fixer, and David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer.
The jury of seven men and five women was sent to a private room just before 11:30 a.m. to begin weighing a verdict in the historic case. The jurors' discussions will be secret, though they can send notes to the judge asking to rehear testimony, like the one sent Wednesday afternoon. That's also how they will notify the court of a verdict, or if they are unable to reach one.
"It is not my responsibility to judge the evidence here. It is yours," Judge Juan M. Merchan told jurors. He also reminded them of their vow during the selection process to judge the case fairly and impartially.
Trump struck a pessimistic tone after leaving the courtroom following an hourlong reading of jury instructions, repeating his assertions of a "very unfair trial" and saying: "Mother Teresa could not beat those charges, but we'll see. We'll see how we do."
Trump and his lawyers, along with prosecutors, were instructed to remain inside the courthouse during deliberations. While waiting behind closed doors there, he continued making a series of posts on his social media network complaining about the trial and quoting legal and political commentators who view the case in his favor.
In one post, written in all-capital letters, he said: "I don't even know what the charges are in this rigged case — I am entitled to specificity just like anyone else." He added, "There is no crime!"
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records at his company in connection with an alleged scheme to hide potentially embarrassing stories about him during his 2016 Republican presidential election campaign.
The charge, a felony, arises from reimbursements paid to then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen after he made a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to silence her claims that she and Trump had sex in 2006. Trump is accused of misrepresenting Cohen's reimbursements as legal expenses to hide that they were tied to a hush money payment.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and contends the Cohen payments were for legitimate legal services. He has also denied the alleged extramarital sexual encounter with Daniels.