President Trump returned to speak with reporters around 5:30 p.m.
He was asked if he had a fair jury, and answered, "What is very unfair is that I'm not campaigning, I'm in this room."
He said there were a lot of witnesses the prosecutors could, or should have called, but did not. He said he could not speak their names due to the gag order.
The jurors' requested testimony will take longer to read back than time left for the day, so the judge will dismiss them soon.
The judge repeated instructions to jurors not to discuss the trial and to report any improper attempts to influence them before dismissing them for the day.
Jurors will continue deliberations 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.
Jurors sent another note at 3:51 p.m., requesting to re-hear the judge's instructions.
The jury will be brought back into the courtroom and the judge will clarify whether they require a portion or the entire instructions again.
The judge asked to have the WiFi disabled on the laptop holding evidence from trial tonight.
Justice Merchan said he has received notes from the jury, signed by the foreperson at 2:56 p.m.
"The note contains four requests," Justice Merchan said.
The jury is requesting Mr. Pecker's testimony regarding his conversation with Mr. Trump by phone while Mr. Pecker was in an investor meeting, Mr. Pecker's testimony regarding his decision not to fund a contract, and transcripts of Mr. Pecker's and Mr. Cohen's testimonies regarding the 2015 meeting at Trump Tower.
Around 3:07, President Trump and his group reentered the courtroom. He did not respond to questions.
A buzzer reportedly rang out in the courtroom.
You can read the full jury instructions here.
President Trump stepped outside the courtroom as jurors began their deliberation.
"Listening to the charges from the judge ... Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. These charges are rigged," he told reporters. "The whole thing is rigged."
"But we'll see. We'll see how we do," he said.
"I always watch the jurors. I watch to see who is paying attention and who is not," Justice Merchan said. "Each of you is very engaged in this case. But we're not going to excuse [alternates]."
All the evidence from trial has been loaded onto a laptop, and Juror 4 and Juror 6 volunteered to operate it for the group.
The judge checked with defense attorney Todd Blanche about whether defense counsel explained to President Trump about evidence being on the laptop for jurors.
Mr. Blanche affirmed that defense counsel reviewed the contents of the laptop and have no objections to this protocol.
Justice Merchan concluded instructions to jurors, and then conferred with counsel.
"Your verdict on each count you consider, whether guilty or not, must be unanimous," the judge told the jury. "That is, each and every juror must agree to it."
"You should discuss the evidence and consult with each other, listen to each other, give each other's views careful consideration. And when you deliberate, you should do so with a view to reaching agreement when that can be done without surrendering an individual juror," he said.
Justice Merchan said that in order to find President Trump guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree, the jury needs to find that the prosecutors proved that the defendant, "acting individually or with others, made or caused false entries in the business records of an enterprise" and that "the defendant did so with the intent to commit another rime or to aid and conceal the commission of that other crime."
There was no burden of proof regarding the second crime, its completion or goal, or intent.
The judge told jurors that in determining whether the defendant conspired to promote or prevent the election of a person to office by unlawful means, they may consider violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), falsification of business records, or violation of tax laws.
FECA makes it unlawful to make contributions to presidential candidates over a certain limit. An expenditure made in cooperation, consultant, or concert with a candidate can be considered a "contribution." The contribution limit in 2015 and 2016 was $2,700. The judge also explained the press exemption to FECA.
Justice Merchan read definitions of terms used in the case.
"Intent means conscious objective or purpose," he told jurors. "Intent does not require premeditation. In other words, intent does not require advance planning, nor is it necessary that the intent exist in the person's mind for a given period of time."
Justice Merchan said prosecutors have the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt not only that the charged crime was committed, but that President Trump committed the crime.
"Under our law, Michael Cohen is an accomplice," he added. "Our law provides that the defendant may not be convicted of any crime based on the testimony of an accomplice unless it is supported by corroborating evidence tending to connect the defendant to the commission of a crime."
Justice Merchan explained the meaning of "reasonable doubt" to jurors. He also gave jurors a list of questions they should ask, and things they should consider.
"Did the witness have an opportunity to see or hear the events about which he or she testified?" he said. "Was the testimony of the witness consistent or inconsistent with other evidence or testimony in the case?'
"You may consider whether a witness had, or did not have, a motive to lie," he also said. "You may consider whether a witness hopes for or expects a benefit for testifying."
"Throughout these proceedings, the defendant is presumed to be innocent," Justice Merchan reminded jurors. "As a result, you must find the defendant not guilty unless the evidence presented by the People proves the defendant to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
"The fact that the defendant did not testify is not a fact on which any inference as to guilt may be drawn," he said. "The burden or proof never shifts from the People to the defendant."
Key witnesses at trial had signed agreements: David Pecker, former head of American Media Inc., had signed a non-prosecution agreement related to two stories he purchased mentioned in the case, and Michael Cohen had pleaded guilty on campaign finance charges.
Justice Merchan reminded jurors that these agreements were allowed into evidence to let jurors assess the witnesses' credibility and for context only.
"I direct you to decide this case on the evidence and law as it related to the defendant on trial here," he said.
"Remember also, in your deliberations, you may not consider or speculate about matters relating to sentence of punishment," Justice Merchan said. "When you judge the facts, you are to consider only the evidence."
Jurors were brought back into the courtroom and Justice Merchan began his instructions.
He said he will first begin with general principles that apply to all criminal cases, and next define the crimes charged in this case, how the law applies, and elements of the charged crimes.
President Trump entered the courtroom minutes before 10 a.m. with a large group of supporters, and did not give his customary morning remarks today.
Long lines formed in the small hours of the morning outside the courthouse at 100 Centre St., as members of the media and public yearned for an opportunity to witness the final stages of the historic criminal trial of Donald Trump. One citizen had reportedly arrived in the park across the street on Saturday in the hope of getting inside the building.
In contrast to Tuesday morning, when a deranged anti-semitic heckler yelled at the people on line from deeper within the park, Wednesday morning was relatively calm, with a small group of Trump supporters holding aloft a banner denouncing what they believed to be a politically driven “kangaroo court.”
The court will start at 10 a.m. today and end at 4:30 p.m. as usual.
Justice Juan Merchan will give the jury instructions before they start deliberating. He estimated the instructions would take an hour.
Closing arguments ended on May 28 in Donald Trump’s falsified documents case in New York City, leaving in the hands of the jury whether he will be a convicted felon heading into the 2024 presidential election.
The case could result in jail time for the former president, although it’s widely considered to be the least consequential of the four criminal prosecutions he’s facing. It’s unclear how long the jury will deliberate.
Todd Blanche, who spoke for the defense, used his closing arguments to attack Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and witness for the prosecution. Mr. Blanche described Mr. Cohen as “the GLOAT: the greatest liar of all time” and told the jury he was the “embodiment of reasonable doubt.”
As the government finishes making its case in the high-profile criminal trial of Donald J. Trump, observers of the proceedings are sharply split on potential outcomes.
One legal expert told The Epoch Times that from the beginning signs have been present the likely verdict has little to do with the legal issues involved and more to do with prosecutors’ agenda.