Donald Trump trial verdict: Jury finds former president GUILTY

Now that former President Donald Trump is a convicted felon he could lose some of his individual liberties, possibly including his ability to vote and own firearms.

The former president’s sentencing is expected to take place on July 11.

What happens at that hearing will be critical to what rights Trump will retain and what liberties he may be stripped of.

Thank you for tuning into DailyMail.com’s coverage – where we’ve brought you the latest up-to-date news from inside and outside the courtroom on this historic day for Donald Trump and the country.

Trump will face sentencing on July 11, just four days before the beginning of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where the party is set to nominate Trump for President a third time.

Here are some of the key takeaways from Thursday’s trial.

As the buzz from Thursday’s historic trial slowly dwindles, let’s look back at the questions on everyone’s minds following Trump’s astonishing guilty verdict.

• Will Trump face jail time? His sentence will be revealed on July 11, just days before the GOP are expected to formally announce him as their election candidate.
• How will it affect the 2024 election? While the 34 convictions have legally tarnished for former president’s name, Republicans and political commentators have been quick to note how the verdict may catapult Trump’s popularity ahead of November’s election.
• If he appeals, how long will it take? The appeals process in New York can often be lengthy. If the defense go ahead and appeal the convictions, it’s unclear how long it will take to get Trump’s case looked at again.

Former president Trump was found guilty by a jury of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the so-called ‘hush money’ trial in New York.

Donald Trump‘s eldest son has declared the US a ‘third world s**thole’ in an hours-long Twitter meltdown after his father’s felony conviction.

Former president Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records after a very brief deliberation and will be sentenced on July 11.

Donald Trump Jr, 46, tweeted ‘bulls**t’ at 5.09pm on Thursday as the verdict was read out in Manhattan Criminal Court, and elaborated minutes later.

Robert De Niro attended the premiere of his new feature film Ezra in New York City on Thursday — just hours after former president Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts in his hush-money trial.

He also declared at the time that Trump should ‘absolutely’ go to jail if found guilty.

He was photographed smirking while chatting with people on the red carpet before he made his way into the screening.

‘I’ve spent almost every day with him for six weeks, he’s so impressive. He was resolute, strong… we were all more upset than he was.’

Todd Blanche, who said he expects to appeal the trial judge’s decision not to recuse himself in a process that could take months and go past the November election, was full of praise for Trump’s demeanor.

‘We were all sitting there and he said ‘let’s go, let me know what I need to tell the American people.’

Blanche said that Trump should tell America ‘whatever’s in your heart,’ adding that Trump needed no counsel for his press conference afterwards.

He added that the president ‘gave me confidence today’ and promised his team was set to fight for Trump again.

Donald Trump‘s lead attorney Todd Blanche revealed that the legal team was more upset than he was when he heard the guilty verdict Thursday, a testament to how ‘resolute’ the ex-president is.

Blanche, a former federal prosecutor, is lead lawyer defending Trump in the hush money case and several other civil trials.

He told Jesse Watters on Thursday that Trump’s reaction to being found guilty on the 34 federal counts was almost shockingly calm.

Former President Donald Trump made history Thursday by becoming the first ex-president to ever be convicted of a crime.

But polling data from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist that dropped earlier in the day showed a common theme across party lines and demographics.

Voters are ambivalent about the outcome of the case.

Ivanka Trump posted ‘I love you dad’ on Instagram to break her silence on the 34 guilty verdicts in the hush money trial.

The former president’s eldest daughter hasn’t made many public comments about the case and hasn’t been in court.

She reacted by posting a photo of her when she was a child, wearing a birthday hat.

Inside the New York courtroom where Donald Trump was convicted on all counts in his historic criminal trial, there was so much tension it felt like you were watching a movie.

From my seat in the third row, directly behind Trump’s advisors and lawyers, I had a clear view of the former president shaking his head in disgust when the first of 34 verdicts were read out.

As he walked out of the 15th floor courtroom a newly convicted man, his son Eric extended his fist and Trump met it in a fist bump.

Actor Robert De Niro commented on the jury’s verdict on a day Trump ridiculed him with a deep fake online post.

‘I think justice was served,’ said at an event for his new film ‘Ezra,’ Variety reported.

‘This never should have gotten to this stage,’ said the actor, who has been feuding with Trump and who did voiceover for a Biden campaign ad. ‘I don’t want to be talking, but I am so upset by it. I have to say something. This is my country. This guy wants to destroy it. Period. He’s crazy.’

On his campaign fundraising page Trump says he is a ‘poltical prisoner’.

The page says: ‘I’m a poltical prisoner! I was just convicted in a RIGGED political Witch Hunt trial: I DID NOTHING WRONG! They’ve raided my home, arrested me, took my mugshot, AND NOW THEY’VE JUST CONVICTED ME!.

‘Crooked Joe Biden needs to get the message – right here, right now – that his chances of a 2nd term END TODAY!’

Earlier, the site crashed as it was inundated by Trump supprters wanting to donate.

Trump aide Jason Miller said the campaign ‘broke the internet’ with donations.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of social networking site Truth Social, plummeted Thursday after former President Donald Trump was convicted in his hush money trial.

Trump Media’s stock dropped nearly 9 percent in after-hours trading Thursday as news of the verdict emerged.

More from Todd Blanche on Fox News:

President Trump is an amazing man. He’s running for president and he has a public persona. He is also a husband, father, a grandfather and a friend to a lot of people. So when you see that happen to him, I was standing right next to him today, it’s heartbreaking.

Blanche said it was an ‘honor’ to represent his client and would contuinie ‘fighting’.

Democrats are loudly celebrating that their longtime political nemesis Donald Trump was  convicted on 34 felony counts Thursday.

And now Democrats and progressives are rejoicing.

Progressive ‘Squad’ member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opened a town hall in the Bronx Thursday evening invoking Trump’s conviction to much applause.

Todd Blanche tells Fox News:

We’ve been saying for over a year that we couldn’t get a fair trial in Manhattan, we couldn’t get a fair trial with the judge and it played out in lots of ways exactly as we expected.

We filed two separate motions saying the judge should recuse himself. He didn’t…I expect I will be one of the things that we appeal.

Our system of justice requires not only that a judge that is actually biased recuse himself, but a judge that has has the appearance of bias to recuse himself. We felt very strongly that there was an actual bias that this judge had, and even if not an actual bias, there was certainly a perception of bias.’

DA Alvin Bragg lauded his team of prosecutrors and defended his own comment in a press conference after a Manhattan jury found Donald Trump guilty on 34 counts.

He refused to say whether prosecutors would seek jail time, saying he would let filings speak for themselves.

Hillary Clinton gloated over former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict Thursday by rolling out new merchandise.

‘We recently had some new merch made based on a phrase I hear a lot. The design happened to be finalized today,’ Trump’s former 2016 presidential rival said, showing off a coffee mug with the slogan: ‘Turns out she was right about everything.’

The illustration on the mug clearly depicts Clinton – with her blonde hair, gold earrings and blue pantsuit, sipping from a teacup.

The Democrat lost the 2016 election to Trump, who a jury said was guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments given to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of election day that year.

Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Clark Brewster told CNN he had spoken to his client after the Trump verdict was read and revealed her reaction.

She was pretty emotional. A lot of mixed emotions.’

‘Obviously, it’s a sad time for anyone to have a conviction like this. It’s momentous to the country and it hit her hard.

She knows how hard the jurors worked and the oath that they took. And we have to respect that.

No man is above the law and we have to respect the system. But she has empathy.

She also did her duty, came to court and told the truth and was exposed to cross-examination.

Brewster added that he hadn’t discussed with Stormy what he would like to see for sentencing.

She said she still has anxiety about those two days she appeared on the stand and that someone will do her harm.

Donald Trump‘s criminal trial related to the hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels was just the first of four criminal cases against the ex-president to go to trial.

Trump, who is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, also faces charges stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into election interference and the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as well as charges for mishandling classified documents in Florida.

Separately, Trump, 77, faces charges for election interference in Georgia.

In total, Trump faced 88 criminal counts including the 34 he was convicted of on  Thursday in New York.  That leaves another 54 counts.

Trump has pleaded not guilty on all charges.

Trial dates for the three other criminal cases have not yet been set.

Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul said:

Today’s verdict reaffirms that no one is above the law.

She said law enforcement will monitor for any disturbances in the wake of the verdict.

In preparation for a verdict in this trial, I directed my Administration to closely coordinate with local and federal law enforcement and we continue to monitor the situation. We are committed to protecting the safety of all New Yorkers and the integrity of our judicial system.

From Dan Bates inside Manhattan Criminal Court as the verdict was read

Inside the New York courtroom where Donald Trump was convicted on all counts in his historic criminal trial, there was so much tension it felt like you were watching a movie.

From my seat in the third row, directly behind Trump’s advisors and lawyers, I had a clear view of the former president shaking his head in disgust when the first of 34 verdicts were read out.

As he walked out of the 15th floor courtroom a newly convicted man, his son Eric extended his fist and Trump met it in a fist bump.

The former President had a face like thunder and a pout that did little to hide his fury at being found guilty on all counts of falsifying business records.

The ex-president and newly convicted felon will hold a press conference Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

It will be held in the Trump Tower, annouced Trump.

He added: ‘MAGA2024!’

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was in court this afternoon to hear the guilty verdict from the prosecution he brought. It was once known as the zombie case because it kept being dropped and then brought back to life.

Donald Trump is guilty of repeatedly and fraudulently falsifying business records in a scheme to conceal damaging information from American voters during the 2016 presidential election. Over the course of the past several weeks, a jury of 12 every day New Yorkers was presented with overwhelming evidence – including invoices, checks, bank statements, audio recordings, phone logs, text messages, and direct testimony from 22 witnesses – that proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Trump illegally falsified 34 New York business records. Mr. Trump went to illegal lengths to lie repeatedly in order to protect himself and his campaign. In Manhattan, we follow the facts without fear or favor and have a solemn responsibility to ensure equal justice under the law regardless of the background, wealth or power of the accused. The integrity of our judicial system depends on upholding that principle.

‘An outrageous day for America. The entire process has been outrageous, of course. Shame on the state of New York. Shame on the corrupt DOJ,’ Jenner said on X.

There was a stunned silence in the park across the courtroom where a jury found Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

The news quickly swept through the large crowd of around 70 which had gathered since Thursday morning and Trump supporters were overcome with emotion.

One man was crying hysterically, others were red with rage and a few were unusually silent following the verdict.

Richie Frank, been a supporter of the former president for 30 years, said the verdict was ‘an eight year set up’.

Democrats tore into Trump and called for respect for the ruling.

‘Boom,’ said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

‘Guilty. Today, 12 ordinary American citizens found a former president guilty of dozens of felonies. Despite his efforts to distract, delay, and deny – justice arrived for Donald Trump all the same. And the rule of law prevailed,’ said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who is currently running for a Senate seat.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said: ‘It matters that the Republican nominee for president is a convicted criminal.’

Liberal media promptly celebrated as Donald Trump became the first US President to be criminally convicted, with Rachel Maddow branding it ‘definitive and irreducible.’

The MSNBC anchor spoke after Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts, which she described as ‘everything the prosecution asked for’ before she challenged the nation to accept the verdict.

‘The test here for us as a country is not about what happens on appeal, and not about sentencing,’ she said. ‘It is about whether or not this former president and his allies will have succeeded in trying to undermine the rule of law.’

‘The jury, by all accounts, took this very very seriously,’ Maddow added.

Viewers also noticed CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins wearing a big grin on her face as she read the news of the Republican former president being convicted.

The court sketch artist captures the moment a court officer stands beside Trump as the verdicts are read.

The former president looked at each member of the jury as he learned he was found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

The Trump campaign and its allies had already prepared the ground. No-one much was watching the events unfolding in courtroom 1530 and, if they were, their feelings were already baked in, the said. The verdict would not change much ahead of November’s election.

Lawyer Alina Habba was telling anyone who would listen that there would be plenty of grounds for appeal if the verdict went the wrong way. And Trump, for his part, had been sowing the idea that he was the victim of a fix, much as he did in 2020, before he lost that election.

These were voices preparing for the worst.

And for much of the trial Trump appeared more interested in fighting in the court of public opinion, with his hallway statements, than in what was going on inside the courtroom, where he sat eyes closed for most of the day.

And although he looked defeated as he left the courtroom, he delivered a fiery hallway riposte (sent out by email for good measure too), saying the real battle is just getting started.

The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people. And they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here. You have a Soros-backed DA, and the whole thing, we didn’t do a thing wrong. I’m a very innocent man, and it’s okay, I’m fighting for our country. I’m fighting for our Constitution. Our whole country is being rigged right now.

Trump knows the courts well. He knows the courts of New York well. And he knows how the media works. If you lose one battle just move on to the next, has long been his way of operating.

Donald Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11th at 10 am, just four days before the start of the Republican National Convention, where he will accept the GOP nomination for president.

Trump on Thursday was found guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

It will be up to Justice Juan Merchan to decide whether his punishment will include jail time.

Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness in the hush money trial, celebrated the Trump guilty verdict as an ‘important day for accountability and the rule of law’.

Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law. While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters. I want to thank my attorneys Danya Perry and Joshua Kolb for their invaluable guidance and support throughout this process.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy took to social media to express support for Donald Trump after he was found guilty of 34 felonies.

‘President Trump’s only ‘crime’ is running against Joe Biden in 2024,’ the former speaker wrote.

‘The American people see right through this weaponization of the legal system.’

Hollywood was quick to react as the jury in Donald Trump´s criminal hush money trial has found the former president guilty of all 34 felony counts against him.

Kathy Griffin said she was crying ‘TEARS OF JOY’ in the wake of the verdict.

DL Hughley said, ‘We really have to do something about all this White on White crime! #TeamDl.’

‘GUILTY!!!!!’ said Rob Reiner, while John Cusack said, ‘The dumb treacherous criminal is now a convicted felon – 34 times over. Now what will judge do with Trump contempt violations.’

Vivica A. Fox said, ‘WOWZERS #Trump GOT’EM!!’

Billy Baldwin said, ‘Guilty on all counts. E. Jean Carroll … Stormy Daniels … Election interference, espionage and inciting an insurrection coming up.’

Many more reactions from the celebrity community were expected to come in Thursday amid the news. They delivered their verdict late Thursday afternoon after two days of deliberations that spanned 9 1/2 hours.

After Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts in the hush money trial, Republicans immediately rushed to his defense – and seemed confident the conviction will be overturned.

‘Today is a shameful day in American history,’ House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement.

‘Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon. This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one.’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted an upside down flag on X and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, called it a ‘travesty of justice.’

DailyMail.com’s Rob Crilly and Sarah Ewall-Wice report from Manhattan:

Hundreds of people stand in near silence across the street from the courthouse, in a small park designated for protesters and counter-protestors. A railing and a thin blue line of police officers separates the pro-Trump from the anti. Yet both sides have the same stunned air.

The lack of celebration on one side of the line is match by the absence of angry wailing on the other. The only noise is the thrum of a helicopter hundreds of feet overhead.

The highly partisan have been joined by the merely curious, like Ken who stopped by on the way home from work.

‘I was a little unimpressed,’ he said. ‘I though therw would more energy.

‘I think it caught everyone by surprise.’

After angry scenes during the day when the two sides briefly scrapped, and in such a polarized nation, for once the two strands are united in shock.

Donald Trump walked out of the New York courtroom just after 5.45pm, less than an hour after he was found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records.

He then got into his waiting SUV with his entourage, to make his way uptown to his home in Trump Tower.

Politicians who duked it out with Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination lamented their former opponent being found guilty on 34 felony charges in his hush money case Thursday.

‘The prosecutor is a politician who promised to nail Trump. The judge’s daughter is a Democrat operative who literally *raised $$ from the trial* while her father presided over it. The jury instructions said they didn’t have to agree on the crime to convict. This will backfire,’ entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy wrote on X.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who openly feuded with Trump while vying for the GOP nomination, wrote in a statement: ‘Today’s verdict represents the culmination of a legal process that has been bent to the political will of the actors involved: a leftist prosecutor, a partisan judge and a jury reflective of one of the most liberal enclaves in America—all in an effort to ‘get’ Donald Trump.’

Political commentator Larry Elder, who few knew ran for the GOP nomination, wrote on X ‘The verdict is an outrage. A monster has been unleashed. And if Democrats don’t think Republican AGs and DAs can’t unleash law fare on Democrat politicians, think again!!!’

Donald Trump Jr. posted a TikTok video form inside the courthouse tearing into the verdict.

He called the jury’s decision a ‘joke’ before leaving with his father.

The verdict is in, and Donald Trump is the first former president in U.S. history to ever be convicted of a crime.

A New York jury found the ex-president and Republican presidential nominee guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records and he will be sentenced on July 11.

Trump’s legal team is expected to appeal, but the unprecedented conviction sets off a process that convicted criminals face across in the Manhattan criminal court system.

Despite his conviction, he can still run for president and is expected to furiously campaign before his expected rematch with President Joe Biden.

The judge has discretion when it comes to sentencing. So will he face jail or will he get probation?

The Biden campaign pounced on former President Donald Trump‘s guilty verdict by saying Thursday that ‘no one is above the law’ – but warned that it would likely have little impact on the presidential race.

‘Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president,’ said Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler. ‘There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box.’

Tyler also pushed that Trump ‘has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain.’

In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law.

Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.

The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution, pledging to be a dictator ‘on day one’ and calling for our Constitution to be ‘terminated’ so he can regain and keep power. A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November.

Senate Republicans are dismayed at the outcome of former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial, in which he was found guilty on all 34 counts.

‘The verdict in New York is a complete travesty that makes a mockery of our system of justice,’ Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is a top VP contender stated.

Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul wrote: ‘How long can our Republic survive once partisans have taken over the judicial process? This verdict will tragically undermine Americans’ confidence in impartial justice. A sad day for America…’

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote in a statement ‘This is America under Democrat rule: prosecuting political opponents whether it’s pro-life Americans or a former President.’

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn posted on X ‘This verdict is a disgrace, and this trial should have never happened.’

Rumored Trump VP contender Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio: ‘This verdict is an absolute miscarriage of justice. ‘While the outcome of this trial will no doubt be subject to appeal, it’s a disgrace to our judicial system that such measures will be necessary.’

Trump came out of the courtroom visibly perturbed after the jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records.

‘This was a rigged, disgraceful trial,’ he lamented in front of eagerly-awaiting camera crews and press.

The ex-president said the ‘real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people.’

‘Everyone know what happened here…this is a Soros-backed DA.’

‘We didn’t do a thing wrong. I’m a very innocent man.’

‘That’s okay, I’m fighting for our country, I’m fighting for our Constitution. This was done by the Biden administration in order to hurt a political opponent.’

‘I think it’s just a disgrace. And we’ll keep fighting and fight till the end and we’ll win because our country’s gone to hell.’

Donald Trump walked out of court swinging his arms, with a face like thunder and an angry pout.

He then spoke to reporters.

A cacophony of disapproval and rang out from House Republicans in the wake of Trump being found guilty on all 34 counts of his hugh money trial.

‘Today is a shameful day in American history,’ House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement. ‘Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon. This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one.’

‘The verdict is a travesty of justice,’ Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a staunch Trump ally wrote.

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said in a statement: ‘Today’s verdict shows how corrupt and rigged the American justice system has become under Joe Biden.’

Another close Trump ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X an image of an upside down American flag.

‘Extremist Democrats have undermined democracy by weaponizing the courts to operate like a banana republic that targets their political opponents,’ House Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., wrote in a statement.

Donald Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche requests a sentencing hearing in mid to late July.

Blanche references the other cases against Trump.

Prosecutors do not oppose a date in mid-July sentencing.

A sentencing date is set for July 11 at 10am ET.

• Count 1:  GUILTY
• Count 2:  GUILTY
• Count 3:  GUILTY
• Count 4:  GUILTY
• Count 5:  GUILTY
• Count 6:  GUILTY
• Count 7:  GUILTY
• Count 8:  GUILTY
• Count 9:  GUILTY
• Count 10:  GUILTY
• Count 11:  GUILTY
• Count 12:  GUILTY
• Count 13:  GUILTY
• Count 14: GUILTY
• Count 15: GUILTY
• Count 16:  GUILTY
• Count 17:  GUILTY
• Count 18:  GUILTY
• Count 19:  GUILTY
• Count 20:  GUILTY
• Count 21:  GUILTY
• Count 22:  GUILTY
• Count 23:  GUILTY
• Count 24:  GUILTY
• Count 25:  GUILTY
• Count 26: GUILTY
• Count 27:  GUILTY
• Count 28:  GUILTY
• Count 29:  GUILTY
• Count 30:  GUILTY
• Count 31:  GUILTY
• Count 32: GUILTY
• Count 33: GUILTY
• Count 34: GUILTY

History was delivered by the jury foreman, answering with one word each time he was asked for a verdict on each of the 34 charges.

‘How say you to count 34?’

‘Guilty,’ he responds each time. Trump looks dead ahead a scowl on his face. He leans back, eyes half closed, showing his usual indifference to proceedings.

Then the court clerk asks each of the 12 jurors if the verdict reflects their view. Now Trump twists to the right, looking intently at each.

He bobs his head at juror number 2. He told the court at the start of this that he gets his news from Triuth Social, and there was wild speculation that he could be a Trumpy holdout. In the end, all 12 jurors agreed. Trump is guilty.

Judge Merchan is thanking the jury for their service and they are exiting the courtroom.

Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

The jury of seven men and five women made their decision after five weeks of dramatic evidence and 22 witnesses being quizzed on the stand.

He is the first former president in history to be convicted of a crime.

The jury enters the courtroom, the judge is in his seat and we are ready for history.

A reminder that today had been largely dull. The judge was ready to send the jury home after their second day of deliberations and then he announced: ‘We have a note.’

He read it out: ‘We, the jury, have a verdict.’

The jury filed in about half an hour after that. The alternate jurors are sitting in the front row. None of the jurors looked at Trump as they came in.

Before the verdict is even read, Trump’s biggest supporters are sending him well wishes.

The Manhattan Distict Attorney Alvin Bragg, who led the prosecution, is in the courtroom to hear the verdict. He arrived through a side door, and Trump may not even know that he is there.

As Donald Trump waits to hear the verdict, his son Eric Trump is seated in court just behind him. Next to Eric is lawyer Alina Habba.

Several Trump aides are also in court ahead of the verdict being read including campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt and adviser Boris Epshteyn.

This is Trump just minutes ago returning to the courtroom. It looked as if we were all heading home without a verdict after two days of deliberations. But then everything turned on a dime, and we expect a verdict minutes from now.

Eric Trump is with him in the courtroom, along with lawyer Alina Habba and legal adviser Boris Epshteyn, and aide Natalie Harp, plus spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.

As the courtroom awaits the jury’s verdict in Trump’s hush money trial, the ex-president is sitting at the defense table chatting with his lawyers.

He is seated between Todd Blanche and Emil Bove.

Trump has been leaning in to speak with Blanche.

Before the judge said the jury had reached a verdict, the ex-president appeared chatty, waving his arms. His arms are now crossed in front of him.

The jury in Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial has reached a verdict on its second day of deliberation.

The seven men and five women made a decision on whether to find the former President guilty or innocent on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

It comes after five weeks of dramatic evidence and 22 witnesses being quizzed on the stand.

The case is the first time a former U.S. President has faced a criminal trial.

Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential candidate and is set to take on Joe Biden in November’s election.

It means the verdict could upend the 2024 White House race and prove a pivotal moment in the history of the United States.

The 34 charges Trump faces each carry a maximum potential sentence of up to four years in prison.

Jurors have the option of convicting Trump of all counts, acquitting him of all counts, or delivering a mixed verdict in which he is found guilty of some charges and not others.

As he walked back into the courtroom a few moments ago, former President Donald Trump was asked by waiting journalists whether he was nervous about a verdict.

He briefly stopped, turned to the cameras and said: ‘I want to campaign.’

Judge Merchan says he is going to excuse the jury at 4:30pm ET.

The prosecutors are coming back into the courtoom.

It suggests court could just be wrapping up for the day. No jury bell buzzed.

The wait for a verdict in Donald Trump’s hush money trial is on…

And as jury deliberations stretch into the second half of a second day, those waiting for the verdict inside the courthouse have settled in with resignation, this could go a while.

Reporters are quietly typing away on computers or reading. Every so often, someone stifles a yawn.

People who do speak do so briefly and in hushed tones.

There’s a sense that a massive story is about to break, but the exact timing is unclear. It’s putting people on edge.

To escape the quiet of the courtroom and overflow room, some people are set up in a jury holding room down the hall.

The mood there is only slighly lighter as reporters remain ready to rush through the hall at any moment if a buzzer is heard in the courtroom.

A slew of Trump’s possible VP picks have shown up in court during the past couple of weeks, including Sen. J.D. Vance, Vivek Ramaswamy and Gov. Doug Burgum. The North Dakota governor was back on Thursday, as the jury continues its deliberations. He was seen entering the courthouse with Trump adviser Jason Miller.

Trump campaign top dogs Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles (who has made a couple of visits to courtroom 1530) are out with a memo dismissing the potential impact of a guilty verdict on November’s election. They say voters see the prosecution as political and are more worried about the economy.

Either way, they say, the result of the trial is already baked into voters’ likely behavior in November.

According to the appended memo based on our internal surveys conducted by Tony Fabrizio, well over 50% of Americans have consistently stated the trial is a political sham. A vast majority of Republicans and independents believe that the prosecution has failed to make their case that Donald Trump did anything wrong. They see the corrupt Judge and the Biden show trials for what they are.

The bottom line is this case doesn’t have an impact on voters. What will have an impact? The continued inflation that is sapping American working families, resulting in higher prices on literally everything from food to housing — all while Biden and his cronies hand out billions in tax dollars to pay the college tuition of the anti-semitic terrorists that descended on college campuses.

In one crazed moment during the scuffle, a woman exposed her breasts and flashed them in the face of a protestor while they were being hauled away by police.

One Trump supporter Lily Qi, 60, told DailyMail.com: ‘We are praying to God he is not guilty. This case is totally wrong.’

It comes as analysts believe the jury may return with a verdict on Thursday, in a groundbreaking moment that could see the presidential front runner become a convicted felon.

As the jury deliberates on charges that relate to Trump allegations dating to 2006, there was another blast from the past in the press.

Bill Pruitt, who was a producer on ‘The Apprentice,’ claims in a new essay that Trump used a racial slur at a meeting during Season 1 of the show. The Trump campaign called it a ‘completely fabricated and bull**** story.’ He says an NDA he signed has now expired.

Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba has just spoken to reporters outside the courtroom, where she once again slammed the proceedings as political and wrongly claimed the jury does not have to be unanimous in finding the defendant guilty.

It’s amazing I never thought I would see the day when you all don’t have to agree on what the crime is. Nobody here has to agree on what the crime is.

Trump loyalists are misinterpreting New York criminal law. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying documents. To be found guilty the jury has to unanimously decide he falsified the documents and did so to conceal another crime — in this case, violating a state election law. But the prosecution offered three ways in which they could decide he violated election law, and that does not have to be unanimous.

Habba called on supporters to be patient. She said if the result went the wrong way, the verdict would be ‘ripe for appeal.’

They can try and rush. They know that the American people are going to see with time and I always say to them, please be patient. Be patient. Don’t look at the verdicts that we get wait. We will go on appeal. We will see and show them what really happened because at this level there is corruption.

As jury deliberations hit the three hour mark on day two, it is impossible to know where the jurors’ minds are at, but some of their requests have shed possible clues.

Jury specialist Renato Stabile believes the jury is trying to answer the fundamental question of whether Trump knew about the payments to Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels or not.

He suggests that is why they requested the David Pecker and Michael Cohen testimony about the Trump Tower meeting and asked for headphones: to listen to the Cohen-Trump call.

‘I think if they conclude that Trump knew what was going on and that this was not Cohen doing things on his own behind Trump’s back, that is all they will need to convict,’ Stabile said.

‘I do not believe the jurors are equipped to parse the legal nuances in the jury instructions about the underlying crimes,’ he adds, despite two non-criminal lawyers sitting on the jury.

More than two-thirds of voters believe their vote in the 2024 election would not be impacted by a Donald Trump conviction, a new poll finds.

In the Marist poll, 67 percent said a guilty verdict in the hush money case would not sway them at the ballot box.

Seventeen percent said they would be less likely to vote for the former president, while 15 percent said it would make them more likely to vote for him.

The survey also found two-thirds of voters already have a choice in mind in the Trump-Biden rematch.

Eric Trump gave his X followers an inside look at his father’s wait for the verdict while the jury deliberated on Thursday.

‘Lunch!’ he posted, alongside a box from The Pie Guy Pizza.

Trump has to stay inside the courthouse during deliberations.

On Wednesday, his son Don Jr. posted a video showing an array of snacks laying on a table between them while they posted ‘mean tweets’.

The court sketch artist in Trump’s hush money trial captured the moment he looked at the jury while they listened to testimony being read out again.

The panel of 12 New Yorkers have now been deliberating for almost eight hours.

The judge could not have been more furious.

‘I think that saying that was outrageous, Mr. Blanche — please have a seat,’ said Judge Juan Merchan.

‘For someone who has been a prosecutor as long as you have, and a defense attorney as long as you have, you know that making a comment like that is highly inappropriate. It’s simply not allowed. Period.

It was not the first time Donald Trump‘s lead attorney Todd Blanche had offended the judge, but this was by far the most incendiary.

This is the moment a British woman and her partner scurried out of a New York City park after a group of Donald Trump supporters shouted to ‘get the f**k out’.

Video shows how police were forced to step in after protesters at a park near Trump’s hush money trial apparently clashed with the couple.

Furious protesters, sporting Trump apparel and waving MAGA flags, yelled ‘f**k the Queen’ and ‘f**k the King’ as the couple tried to leave the park. One demonstrator, as she was held back by an officer, branded the woman a ‘f***ing c**t’ and told her to ‘burn in h**l you liberal f**k’.

While it is not clear what sparked the ugly confrontation, NYPD officers were seen trying to separate Trump’s supporters and the couple.

Catherine Christian, a former member of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, said she would be ‘cautiously optimistic’ if she were a member of the team trying this case.

In his closing, prosecutor Josh Steinglass set the 2015 Trump Tower meeting as the start for the whole catch-and-kill scheme which is central to the case. Prosecutors will be happy that the jury wanted to hear that part of David Pecker’s evidence, she said.

They will also be pleased that the jurors wanted to hear the judge’s instructions.

They will be thinking, “Thank goodness they are focusing on the law.” They can go away now and apply the law to the testimony they heard.

Donald Trump is bothered his wife Melania Trump has not shown up a single day in court for his hush money trial in New York.

Stephanie Grisham, who served as White House press secretary from 2019 to 2021 told CNN that a reporter’s question ‘where’s Melania?’ definitely bothers the former president.

The question about her whereabouts has been regularly brought up as the former president goes to speak to the media in the courthouse. He has ignored it to date.

‘Oh absolutely, I know it bothers him,’ Grisham said. ‘That kind of thing would bother him if Mrs. Trump wasn’t at some event, and it was really noted, he would definitely bring it up with her.’

The court staff has concluded reading back testimony of David Pecker and Michael Cohen as requested by the jury.

The jury has now left the courtroom to continue deliberating at 11:15 a.m.

Six jurors could be seen writing down notes as Pecker’s testimony about the August 2015 meeting in Trump Tower was read out.

They paid close attention when the part about Pecker promising to be the ‘eyes and ears’ of the campaign were read out.

Pecker testified about the meeting between Pecker, Trump and Michael Cohen at Trump Tower in 2015.

Prosecutors have claimed this meeting was the start of the entire plot to bury negative stories about Trump in the 2016 election, which they called the ‘Trump Tower Conspiracy.’

The meeting lasted 20 to 25 minutes, Pecker testified.

The agreement Pecker said was never put into writing.

He also testified that he said they would help the campaign but wanted to keep it as quiet as possible.

The court staff reads David Pecker’s testimony about some of the stories the National Enquirer was running during the 2016 campaign.

Pecker testified that the stories were ‘mutually beneficial’ for the tabloids and the Trump campaign.

The jury had asked for the read back of the testimony about this Trump Tower meeting.

Court staff is reading back David Pecker’s testimony about the deal to buy Karen McDougal’s life rights.

It included a conversation he had with Donald Trump on the phone about doing a deal to buy McDougal’s story.

Pecker said he didn’t push Trump to pay him back the $150,000 for McDougal’s life rights.

Pecker testified that it happened in October 2016 and he spoke to Michael Cohen that it was a ‘bad idea.’ He testified that Cohen started screaming and said ‘the boss is going to be very angry.’

Pecker had concerns and testified that he was not ‘going forward, period.’ He said the company was never reimbursed by Trump.

Two court staff members are reading back the testimony of David Pecker from teh transcript.

The jury requested the Pecker testimony about taking a call from Trump while he was at an investors meeting.

They also requested his testimony on the Karen McDougal life rights deal and about a meeting at Trump Tower.

The jury requested the testimony of Michael Cohen about the Trump Tower meeting as well.

Judge Merchan’s read back of jury instructions just concluded.

As he was reading, Donald Trump appeared to have his eyes closed. At times, his chin was down as he slumped in his chair, suggesting he was asleep.

As the read back wrapped up, he visibly jolted in his chair.

Judge Merchan is reading back jury instructions on how to evaluate a witness’ credibility.

‘Under our law, Michael Cohen is an accomplice because there is evidence that he participated in a crime based upon conduct involved in the allegations here against the defendant.’

‘Our law is especially concerned about the testimony of an accomplice who implicates another in the commission of a crime, particularly when the accomplice has received, expects or hopes for a benefit in return for his testimony.’

Jurors took notes when the judge talked about the need for evidence to corroborate what Cohen was saying given he was considered an accomplice in the case.

Testimony from David Pecker would be one of the ways that Cohen’s testimony could be corroborated.

Who says Donald Trump only wears red ties? For the past seven weeks, as he comes and goes from courtroom 1530 he has offered a tour of his tie closet.

Ever aware of his image and how he comes across in photographs, he has limited his typical red tie to a once-a-week outing. It means picture desks know immediately if they are looking at fresh images by checking the color of tie. So today, if it’s not royal blue, they know it is an old picture.

Here’s a run-down of the ties so far:

1. Light blue – it may not be red but Trump seems to favor strong color blocks
2. Royal blue – on display again today
3. Red striped – interesting to note that the stripes run the British way not American
4. Blue striped – again note direction. Trump often takes his cues from the Old World
5. Gold patterend – a faint check gives texture
6. Deep red – old faithful

As well as making sure news organizations have different pictures every day, there is another factor in play. In the confines of a regimented courtroom, with the judge’s rules enforced by bailiffs, neckwear is one of the things that Trump can control.

Judge Merchan is rereading part of the jury instructions as requested by the jury.

The portion deals with the consideration of evidence in the case.

Merchan reads when they judge the fact, they are to only include the evidence.

He also reads that exhibits received into evidence are available upon request.

Merchan reads when they are evaluating the evidence, the jury may consider fact that is proven as well as inference from the facts.

Judge Merchan is going through the requests from the jury so far.

Judge Merchan says there’s a new note from the jury.

It came this morning at 9:32am after two notes were sent yesterday.

The jury had already requested the jury instructions.

The note appears to clarify what part of those instructions they wish to hear.

They wanted to hear that part about ‘how the jury considers the evidence and what inferences can be drawn from the facts,’ the judge says.

The jury also requested headphones to use with the evidence laptop.

The judge says yes to the request and also says they could have speakers for it.

Judge Juan Merchan is on the bench.

Trump is seated between his lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove.

Donald Trump spoke to the media after entering the courthouse.

‘Here we go again,’ he says.

The ex-president slammed the gag order and read excerpts from conservative legal commentators criticizing the case.

His defense lawyer Todd Blanche was at the ex-president’s side.

Trump’s son Eric is in court today.

He is also joined by lawyer Alina Habba, aides Jason Miller, Natalie Harp and campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in court today.

Donald Trump left Trump Tower and headed to his motorcade.

The former president, wearing a shiny blue tie, briefly waved before getting in an SUV.

The jury in Trump’s hush money trial is entering day two of deliberations. Yesterday, they deliberated for more than four hours and sent back two notes before being dismissed for the day. But it’s hard to say where the jury’s at based on the length of deliberations so far.

‘It’s so hard to make predictions around the deliberation process because we’re not in the room,’ says Cheryl Bader, associate professor at Fordham Law. ‘We also don’t have a sense of these 12 people and what their dynamic is.’

‘It’s a lot of testimony; it’s an important case. There’s a lot to get from sitting without being able to talk to anybody for weeks and weeks,’ she adds. ‘So I would think the first thing they just want is to talk about it and talk to each other.’

Bader was not surprised there wasn’t a verdict on day one of deliberations, but she also would not be surprised if there is a verdict by the end of the week.

Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s attorney Alina Habba and his campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt were among his supporters in court on Wednesday as jury deliberations began.

His loyal aide Natalie Harp, known by some as the ‘human printer’ for giving him copies of news articles, was also in the courtroom.

Twelve Manhattan residents have Donald Trump‘s fate in their hands as the historic hush money case against the ex-president heads to jury deliberations.

Through six weeks of sometimes salacious and other times grueling witness testimony the jury listened closely as prosecutors laid out their case and Trump’s defense team attempted sow doubt.

Seven men and five women – including a corporate lawyer and a woman who called the ex-president ‘selfish’ – will ultimately determine if Trump is guilty or not guilty of hiding a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about their alleged affair in an effort to influence the 2016 election.

DailyMail.com breaks down what we know about who gets to decide Trump’s innocence or guilt.

After Judge Juan Merchan wrapped up his instructions to the jury he had one last order for Donald Trump, his legal team and the prosecutors.

‘I do direct all of you to be please here,’ he said Wednesday, before heading for his robing room. ‘You cannot leave the building.’

It is another humbling moment for the man who was leader of the free world for four years and may yet be again after November’s election.

He held up traffic with his motorcade and closed airspace in Air Force One. But for the past five weeks in a New York courtroom, Trump has had to follow rules laid out by a judge and enforced by bailiffs.

Donald Trump on Wednesday slammed the case against him as ‘rigged’ upon leaving the courtroom.

‘Mother Teresa could not beat those charges,’ Trump said speaking to the media. ‘But we’ll see.’

The ex-president also went after Judge Merchan.

‘The judge is so conflicted that he can’t breathe,’ he claimed.

Trump blasted Merchan for contributing to President Biden and suggested he’s done ‘far worse than that, but I’m not allowed to talk about it because of a gag order.’

Donald Trump and his eldest son, Don Jr. put out a TikTok on Wednesday night that saw the duo sitting together in a back room at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse concocting their next mean tweet.

Judge Juan Merchan wrapped up his instructions to the jury on Wednesday as they retired to consider their verdict, but he had one last order for the former president, his legal team and the prosecutors.

‘I do direct all of you to be please here,’ he instructed. You cannot leave the building.’

It means for that for the first time in several weeks, Trump has time on his hands.

Sitting together with his son in one of the courthouse’s white-walled meeting rooms, accompanied with a bottle of Diet Coke and several boxes of chocolates, the pair turned the camera on themselves to create a short clip.

Jury deliberations got underway on Thursday and twelve New York jurors now hold the fate of former U.S. President Donald Trump in their hands.

They deliberated for four-and-a-half hours and sent the judge two notes for testimony to be read back before they were sent home.

Here were the big moments of the day:

• Jury Instructions: Judge Juan Merchan read through the jury instructions for the jurors in a calm and even tone. The judge told the jury to consider only the evidence and instructed them to set aside bias and opinions about the ex-president. Merchan then read through the law and the 34 charges against Trump. He also explained how deliberations would proceed.
• Deliberations begin: The twelve jurors were then escorted from the courtroom to begin deliberations. They deliberated for about four and a half hours on the first day of jury deliberations.
• Trump sets expectations: While the jury began deliberations, Trump spoke to the media where he slammed the whole case as ‘rigged’ and put the ‘conflicted’ judge on blast. He said ‘Mother Teresa could not beat those charges.’
• Jury sends two notes: As the jury deliberations continued into the afternoon, the jury sent two notes with requests to the judge. The first requested four pieces of testimony. The jury wants to rehear Pecker’s testimony about a phone conversation with Trump while he was in an investor meeting, about a decision regarding the Karen McDougal life rights deal, and about a Trump Tower meeting. They also want Michael Cohen’s testimony on the meeting. The jury also asked to rehear the jury instructions.