Former President Donald Trump reacted angrily to New York County Judge Juan Merchan’s jury instructions Thursday morning as the former President comes disturbingly close to being thrown in jail.
“Mother Teresa could not beat these charges, but we’ll see. We’ll see how we do. It’s a very disgraceful situation,” Trump told reporters after the jury began deliberations in his criminal trial.
“These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged,” he added.
“We’re going to take back our country from these fascists and these thugs that are destroying us with inflation and with everything they do,” Trump continued, “allowing 15, 16, 17 million people into our country, totally unvetted, totally unchecked.”
“We’re going to bring back our nation,” Trump vowed. “November 5. Remember, most important day in the history of our country.”
“In the meantime, this trial is rigged,” he said.
Meanwhile, Judge Merchan told the New York Supreme Court he would only need four out of twelve jurors need to agree that Trump is guilty in otder sentence him to four years in prison.
“There is no need to agree on what has occurred,” said Judge Merchan.
“They can disagree on what the crime was among the three choices. Thus, this means that they could split 4-4-4 and the judge would still treat them unanimously.”
This is insane.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 29, 2024
New York Judge Merchan just told jurors that they DO NOT have to unanimously agree on what crime Trump is guilty of.
It could be a 4-4-4 split.
pic.twitter.com/lPrWlQYHau
The jury will deliberate until members reach a verdict, and they will be dismissed on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. until Thursday.
According to CNN, the jury instructions include:
- 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
Breitbart reports: One juror who sat for six weeks listening to the evidence presented in a Manhattan courtroom against Trump reportedly appears sympathetic toward him.
Some legal experts, such as constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley, expect the jury will either render a guilty verdict or produce a hung jury that results in a mistrial.
Many legal experts believe there is no good case against Trump.
Increasing numbers of Americans see Trump’s criminal trial as irrelevant to his fitness for reelection, a CNN poll recently found, and only 13 percent believe Trump is being treated the same as other “criminal defendants.”
A majority of Americans doubt Trump’s criminal trial will conclude with a fair outcome, the CNN poll found.
Only about one-third of American adults believe Trump did anything illegal regarding the case, an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found in April.
The case is New York v. Trump, No. 71543-23, in the New York Supreme Court for New York County.
