A summary of the jury instructions... These are the jury instructions from Judge Juan Merchan https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-n...l-05-29-24/h_7b9ed6a46a6cfe0d8e26314c547d3af7 Judge Juan Merchan delivered his instructions to jurors before they began deliberations in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial. Here’s what Merchan told the jury: They must not make a decision based on biases or stereotypes; They must set aside personal differences; They must not speculate how long sentencing may be or what the punishment might be – that’s up to the judge; They can’t hold it against Trump for not testifying; The “people must prove beyond a reasonable doubt every element of the crime.” He reminds the jury it must not rest its verdict on speculation; They can consider whether a witness hopes to receive a benefit related to the trial, or if they have an interest in how the case ends; They cannot convict Trump on Michael Cohen’s testimony alone because he’s an accomplice, but they can use his evidence if corroborated with other evidence; The jury must be unanimous if they find Trump guilty on each count – on whether he committed the crime personally, acted in concert with others or both; They must determine if Trump conspired to promote someone or prevent them from public office by unlawful means; They should deliberate with a view toward reaching an agreement, without surrendering individual judgement; Jurors notes cannot be used in place of evidence; The foreperson will deliver the verdict for each count after deliberations are over; They must surrender their phones, and can only discuss the case when all 12 of them are together. Merchan explained some key laws in the case: On the law applicable to falsifying business records, Merchan told the jury: "You must find beyond a reasonable doubt first that he solicited requested, commanded, importuned or intentionally aided that person to engage in that conduct and second that he did so with the state of mind required with the commission of the offense." He also explained what makes a person guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree – explaining that they must have the intent to defraud – including the intent to commit another crime or conceal the commission of one. On what constitutes a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act: It is unlawful for an individual to willfully make a contribution to any candidate running for office, including the presidency, exceeding certain limits which in the relevant years was $2,700, Merchan tells the jury. He also walked the jury through what they must find in the different counts levelled against Trump. Merchan explained what tax law violations were and said it was unlawful for a person to willfully produce a tax statement or document that's false.
This is what Trump thinks... Trump's latest courtroom rant ''The whole thing is rigged.'' "Mother Teresa could not beat these charges," Trump told reporters outside his courtroom Wednesday. "These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged." The former President Donald Trump's remark Wednesday that "Mother Teresa couldn't beat" the charges he faces in Manhattan criminal court has spurred a lot of questions. The questions also concern the late Albanian-Indian nun, a canonized Roman Catholic saint best known for the Nobel Peace prize she received for her work aiding the destitute of India. "Did she pay off a porn star?" replied Ron Filipkowski. "Mother Teresa could not beat these charges," Trump told reporters outside his courtroom Wednesday. "These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged." Viewers of this comment professed themselves unsurprised that Trump cast blame for the criminal charges against him away from himself. "The thought of accountability has Trump nervous," replied X user Eric Rosen. Added Denise Keegan Steeneck, "Oh, it’s a beautiful thing when he knows he’s toast."
So Mother Teresa also attempted to commit multiple felonies in trying to hide hush money payments that she had sex with a porn star. Good to know.
Trump's bonehead analogy (announcing it) with Mother Teresa is his way of trying to pretend what he did was not sinful, he's done nothing wrong in the eyes of religion and he's rallying his Evangelical followers to continue supporting him. He's such a bullshitter that he doesn't understand Mother Teresa didn't have unprotected sex with a porn star, she didn't pay the porn star to keep her mouth shut so that he wouldn't lose the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections, and she didn't falsify business records to conceal the hush money. Trump is Fucked wrbtrader