The court is still waiting to dismiss the case.
It was a few minutes after I was due to leave, but the courtroom was silent and the only sounds I could hear were the tapping of my own keyboard and the keyboards of the reporters to my right and left.
The courtroom was filled with tension.
There is no reason to believe a verdict will be reached before the jury is dismissed, but tension is building in the courtroom.
Every cough is audible, echoing off the courtroom’s wood-paneled walls, reporters shift around to get a glimpse of the lawyers, and speculative glances are exchanged from across the aisle as they wait.
In perhaps the most tense moment, the courtroom doors slid open and in walked Andrew Giuliani, the son of the former New York City mayor.
Trump unhappy with jury instructions, criticizes judge
Throughout the day, as he awaited his fate in a holding cell, Trump complained about Judge Juan Merchan, his trial and the jury instructions on Truth Social.
In just over 30 minutes, the former president Posts Twice Trump took to social media to claim the jury instructions were “unfair, misleading, inaccurate and unconstitutional” and criticized Judge Marchan as “highly inconsistent” and “biased”, and repeated his claims that the trial is a witch hunt and election interference.
He also said, in capital letters, that his civil rights had been “totally violated.”
The Trump team is doing well
Trump is seen speaking with his lawyers, turning to Todd Blanche, who is leaning over the former president and covering his mouth, then to Emil Bove, who is speaking with Susan Necheles, and smiling.
Blanche is seen whispering to Trump and laughing, and Trump is heard smiling slightly.
Necheles and Bove seem to be in very good spirits.
No verdict, judge says jury will be dismissed at 4:30 p.m.
Judge Marchan entered the courtroom and announced that the jury would be dismissed at 4:30pm today, with no verdict and no record.
President Trump and his legal team return to court
Trump, his legal team and his son Eric returned to the courtroom, where Trump said he wanted to “campaign.”
The prosecutor is in court
The prosecutors from the District Attorney’s Office are in the courtroom, but it’s unclear why they’re there because the jurors didn’t ring the bell. So far, the judge and defense aren’t there either. District Attorney Bragg isn’t here either.
Michael Cohen files Supreme Court lawsuit against President Trump
As President Trump awaits a ruling in his hush money trial, key witness Michael Cohen is hoping the Supreme Court will intervene in a lawsuit he is suing the former president for sending him back to prison after his release.
Cohen last week asked for an extension to the deadline for filing a petition for leave to appeal, which the Supreme Court uses to hear many cases. The original deadline was June 5, but Justice Sonia Sotomayor today extended the deadline to July 10. If Cohen’s final petition is granted by the Supreme Court, the justices will hear the case and more filings will follow.
Cohen’s lawsuit, the so-called Bivens lawsuit, alleges that Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr, the Department of Justice and other federal officials unconstitutionally detained him at Otisville Correctional Facility on July 9, 2020, after he was released due to COVID-19 precautions. Cohen has said for years that he feels he is being punished for writing a book about Trump.
The Supreme Court has made it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to bring such cases, making Cohen’s case highly unlikely to be heard.
Quiet Stretching
The jury seemed lackluster.
The only action in the courtroom that afternoon was a court clerk using a copy machine to make copies of documents, although it’s unclear whether the copies have any bearing on the case.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum in court
On the court is North Dakota’s Republican governor, Doug Burgum, who has been rumored to be a possible running mate for President Trump. He ran for the Republican nomination this term but withdrew in December.
