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Trump trial live: Jury begins deliberating in hush-money case - BBC News Trump trial: Jury deliberations under way in hush-money case - BBC News
(29 days later)
Kayla Epstein Brandon Livesay
Reporting from court Reporting from New York
Justice Merchan has served 17 years on the bench, but this is by far the most high-profile case to cross his courtroom. The day started with Justice Juan Merchan giving jurors instructions. He spent about an hour telling jurors how to interpret the law that's relevant to this case.
The New York County Supreme Court judge is known for his reserved nature. He is not a loud man, which can make it a bit difficult to hear him when he makes an important decision in court, but he is no pushover, either. Then they were sent off to start deliberating in this historic trial.
He threatened Trump with jail time if he kept breaking the gag order, told the defence lawyer that he was “losing all credibility” during one argument, and cleared the courtroom to scold a witness. After a few hours, we had some movement. A buzzing noise sounded, and everyone surged back into the courtroom.
Soon after Donald Trump was charged, records emerged showing Justice Merchan had donated a total of $35 to Democrats during the 2020 election. New York state prohibits judges from making contributions to political organisations or candidates, but he did not recuse himself. It wasn't a verdict, it was jurors asking some questions. They wanted to see evidence from earlier in the trial
The judge's daughter, Loren Merchan, has been at the centre of a bigger conflict-of-interest storm. And with that, the day wrapped up. We'll be back at it on Thursday, with court scheduled to start at 09:30 local time (14.30 BST).
She is president of Authentic Campaigns, a firm that has worked on fundraising and advertising for Democratic clients. Attempts to have the judge removed from the case for this reason also failed. For a recap of where things stand in the trial, you can read this article.
Trump blasted Loren Merchan on social media, calling her a “Rabid Trump Hater”, which caused the gag order to be extended to include the judge's family. Our reporters in court today were Kayla Epstein and Madeline Halpert. And this page was edited by Caitlin Wilson, Tiffany Wertheimer and myself.
You can read more about the judge here. Thanks for joining us.
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