"Just minutes after the verdict was announced, the Trump campaign sent out a fund-raising email in which Trump said, in all capital letters, “I am a political prisoner!” - Michael Gold, NYT
Today's historical event has lifted my optimism higher than it has been in many years.
I hope you all join me in celebrating today's verdict, in this never ending nightmare of Trump lies and criminality that we all have been burdened with.
"Sentencing is set for July 11 at 10 a.m.
That will put sentencing four days before the beginning of the Republican National Convention, at which Trump is expected to receive the party’s presidential nomination." - Michael Gold, Jesse McKinley, NYT
Holy Moses!
"Donald J. Trump has been convicted of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened his ascent to the White House in 2016, part of a scheme that prosecutors described as a fraud on the American people. He is the first American president to be declared a felon, a stain he will carry as he seeks to regain the presidency." - Jonah E. Bromwich and Ben Protess, NYT #trumptrial#hushmoney
"Mr. Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records by a jury of 12 New Yorkers, who deliberated over two days to reach a decision in a case rife with descriptions of secret deals, tabloid scandal and an Oval Office pact with echoes of Watergate." - Jonah E. Bromwich and Ben Protess, NYT
"The felony conviction calls for a sentence of up to four years behind bars, but Mr. Trump may never see the inside of a prison cell. He could receive probation when he is sentenced, and he is certain to appeal the verdict — meaning it may be years before the case is resolved. Still, the jury’s decision is an indelible moment in America’s history, concluding the only one of four criminal cases against Mr. Trump that was likely to go to trial before Election Day." - Jonah E. Bromwich and Ben Protess, NYT
"As the judge has re-read his instructions to the jury, Trump has had his eyes closed, and his chin has sometimes slumped to his chest. At other times, his head has been slightly pitched back, like a man tanning." - Jesse McKinley, NYT
Here’s a fun idea for the media covering the #hushmoney trial. Next time Trump leaves the courtroom prepared to serve up his bowl of lies don’t show up. No reporters, no cameras… just an empty hallway.
Juan M. Merchan's instructions to the jury, that serve as a guide to applying the law, in the Donald J. Trump Hush Money trial deliberations.
54 pages in the linked NYT PDF below.
Reading the first three pages frames the seriousness and focus needed for 12 jurors to proceed in their incredibly important civic duty. We should be reminded that we are all protected under the same due process as this former president of the United States. https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/d458fdbff3cd7a41/84784522-full.pdf #trumptrial#hushmoney#jury
"Jurors in Donald Trump’s hush money trial are expected to begin deliberations Wednesday after receiving instructions from the judge on the law and the factors they may consider as they strive to reach a verdict in the first criminal case against a former American president."
[Prosecutor] Joshua Steinglass again shares passages of one of Trump’s books, in which he [Trump] wrote that he can’t stomach disloyalty. Steinglass argues that Trump disparages witnesses who speak out against him in order to discourage other witnesses from coming forward." - Kate Christobek, NYT