On the 1st day of #testimony in #HunterBiden’s federal #gun trial, #jurors heard his audio of his memoir, where he recounted his #drug use in graphic detail. A federal prosecutor told jurors “no one is above the #law,” & defense said the he did not “knowingly” lie when filling out forms to purchase a weapon.
The latest #doxxing attempt fits a pattern of #threats against people who speak out against Trump.
The addresses & phone numbers of fmr Trump lawyer Cohen's family members were posted to a doxxing website after Trump was #convicted of 34 #felony counts in connection w/a scheme to illegally #influence the #2016election.
#Trump supporters tried to #dox#jurors last week after his #conviction, & they also targeted #prosecutors & the #judge, Justice #Merchan, in the case w/ #threats. During the trial, the mother of a fmr police officer, #MichaelFanone, who was nearly killed on #Jan6, 2021, by rioters who believed Trump's lies about the #2020election was "#swatted" after her son called Trump "an authoritarian" w/ "a violence fetish."
Big show of family support on the 1st day of #HunterBiden’s trial.
In addition to #POTUS’ statement, Hunter’s wife, Melissa Cohen, his sister Ashley Biden, his friend Kevin Morris, Peter Neal, who is married to Hunter’s daughter Naomi, & #FLOTUS Dr. #JillBiden are in attendance.
President #Biden will be in Wilmington, DL, w/no appearances scheduled. But he has given no indication that he would be in the courthouse — a possibility that would require considerable security arrangements.
The judge overseeing the #HunterBiden case is nearly done w/ #JurySelection, having narrowed the field down to 32 potential candidates, from which defense lawyers & prosecutors will use peremptory challenges to end up w/a dozen #jurors & 4 alternates. It is increasingly likely that jury selection, which began Monday morning, will finish by the afternoon.
Judge Maryellen Noreika swore in 12 #jurors — + 4 alternates — to determine the #legal fate of #HunterBiden, who is on trial for 3 #felony#gun charges….
A substitute #teacher, a fmr #SecretService employee & multiple #GunOwners were among those chosen to report back to court Tues morning, when opening arguments are expected to begin.…Most were people of color, &…appeared to range from mid-20s to 70s.
…The responses of dozens of prospective jurors to questions in open court reflected some of the most pervasive & divisive issues in American society, w/jurors discussing their views on #gun ownership & #mistrust of the #judicial process.
And in a trial where the #criminal defendant has been public about his struggles w/ drug #addiction, the #jurors told the court about similar battles fought by their parents, children & friends.
…Many #jurors said they had read or seen headlines about Hunter Biden’s #gun case over the yrs in local & natl news, but few said they delved into the details. One woman, selected as an alternate, said she first learned #HunterBiden was going to trial on Mon …on her drive over to the courthouse.
She told the court that many of her relatives are gun owners & that she has lost multiple friends to drug #addiction. “I feel it’s an everyday part of the world nowadays,” she said.
Each page yesterday took him just a little more than a minute, so this will take >30 mins.
Between that & the testimony readbacks, also expected to take >30 mins, there will likely be >1 hour this morning w/the jury in the courtroom, not actively deliberating.
Justice #Merchan says the #jurors also asked for headphones to use w/the evidence laptop. This suggests they may want to listen to the secret recordings #MichaelCohen made, or excerpts from his podcasts, or some other piece of evidence that includes audio.
Yesterday, Merchan noted that the laptop jurors are using to view the evidence is not equipped w/ Wi-Fi, & he just did it again, on the record, & had both parties acknowledge that they’d heard him.
If the laptop had Wi-Fi, the #jurors would have access to info about the case during #deliberations that they aren’t supposed to.
By making the point about the Wi-Fi on the record, #Merchan has protected himself from either side making an issue out of it in an appeal (or in the media).
Next the court reporters read the second part of David #Pecker’s #testimony that the #jurors asked to hear, where he explains that he decided he did not want to be repaid for #KarenMcDougal’s story after purchasing it. The implication was that he was concerned about the #legal consequences of accepting a reimbursement - he testified that the concern was regarding FEC violations.
#Jurors hear #Pecker recall that after he said he wasn’t going to go thru w/the agreement w/ #MichaelCohen, who was to pay him for the rights to #KarenMcDougal’s story using an LLC, Cohen told him: “The boss is going to be very angry at you.”
Court reporters read the 3rd portion of Pecker’s testimony. This part pertains to the Aug 2015 #TrumpTowerMeeting in which Pecker, Michael Cohen & #Trump entered a #conspiracy to suppress negative news about Trump during the #2016election.
The #jurors just again heard #Pecker’s #testimony that the reason he was purchasing negative stories on #Trump’s behalf was to benefit his presidential campaign.
Defense atty Emil #Bove cross-examined Pecker, & jurors are hearing part of that cross now. Bove elicited testimony that Pecker misremembered the exact date of the Aug 2015 meeting, & more generally that Pecker was testifying about events from a long time ago.
The #testimony readbacks are complete, & #jurors are excused to continue their #deliberations. They have asked to use both headphones & speakers to listen to #evidence that includes an audio portion.
The prohibition against jurors being provided a copy of written #legal instructions comes from a 1987 decision by the #NewYork Court of Appeals in #PeopleVOwens.
The court found that “the distribution of written instructions to the jury is not expressly authorized by #law, & error in such submissions cannot be deemed harmless,” meaning: providing instructions would result in a #conviction being #overturned.
The #verdict must be unanimous on the primary crime falsification of business records.
Once #jurors inform the court they have reached a verdict, Justice Juan #Merchan will summon the parties to the courtroom to hear it read by the foreperson.
Merchan must still affirm the verdict & enter a final judgment.
Tues 29 May 2024 🧵
Good morning! It’s the last day of the #TrumpTrial before jury #deliberations.
Today Justice #Merchan will give #JuryInstructions. Then they will discuss the case among themselves for the first time; they have not been allowed to even discuss it w/each other as yet.
Closing arguments took place yesterday, & the lawyers will have no further opportunity to address the jurors before they determine whether #Trump is #guilty or not guilty of 34 felonies.
#Trump's lawyers didn't challenge 11 of the 12 #jurors deciding the case
Since the beginning of the trial, Trump has tried to cast doubt on this jury….
…before the jury was empaneled, the defense had the opportunity to “challenge for cause” each of the jurors. Among the 12 seated jurors, Trump’s team only challenged 1 of those individuals — Juror 11. Judge Merchan, despite the challenge, seated that juror.
When things finally get under way, Justice #Merchan will describe the #legal meaning of the word “#intent” & the concept of the presumption of innocence. He will remind the #jurors that they pledged to set any biases aside against #Trump before they were sworn in, & that Trump’s decision not to testify cannot be held against him.
Then, Justice Merchan will explain the 34 charges of falsifying business records. It will be the most important guidance that he gives during this #TrumpTrial.
Justice #Merchan reminds the #jurors they need to “set aside” personal opinions or bias against #Trump.
He reads standard #legal language on #fairness, one phrase: “As a juror, you are asked to make a very important decision about another member of the community.”
An unintentional reminder that this is #CitizenTrump — just “another member of the community.”
#Merchan says that #jurors can draw inferences while evaluating the #evidence during deliberations. To explain the concept of an inference, he uses the example of a wet, rainy sidewalk in the morning. While one may not have seen it rain, Merchan says, one can infer that there was a storm or shower at some point overnight.
Justice #Merchan rereads some of the limiting instructions he read at trial, reminding #jurors that certain types of #evidence were presented for a limited purpose — e.g. to assess a witness’s credibility — & are not indications of #Trump's guilt in & of themselves.
Merchan reminds jurors that they cannot hold Trump’s choice not to testify against him as they deliberate.
Justice #Merchan says that there’s no formula for evaluating someone’s truthfulness, & that a person brings to the process all their varied experiences. “In life,” he says, “you frequently decide the truthfulness & accuracy of statements made to you by other people.” He tells the #jurors to use the same factors they draw on outside of court when evaluating testimony in the case.
Judge #Merchan says jury has a note w/ 4 requests. They just rang the courtroom.
3 of the requests relate to testimony from David #Pecker, the former publisher of The #NationalEnquirer, who prosecutors say was part of the #conspiracy to suppress negative news on #Trump’s behalf during the 2016 election. The other request relates to #MichaelCohen’s testimony.
The phone call #jurors asked for from David Pecker’s testimony was call he testified he had w/ #Trump during an investor meeting, in June 2016, during which Trump acknowledged that he knew #KarenMcDougal.
Jurors may also be looking at the part of the #TrumpTowerMeeting when #Pecker testified that he decided to not collect reimbursement from Trump for his #HushMoney deal w/ McDougal. The wording from the jurors is slightly unclear.
#Jurors are coming back into the courtroom to have the testimonies read back to them.
When jurors request to hear testimony, they return to the courtroom & the relevant portions of the transcript are read aloud by the court reporters. Sometimes court reporters have fun w/this, doing impressions & imitating accents. No way that happens here. The court reporter is already on the witness stand, waiting for the jury.
Justice #Merchan is back on the bench. He says that the #jurors sent a second note at 3:51PM. The jurors have also asked to hear the judge’s #JuryInstructions again.
Justice Merchan says he will bring the jurors back into the courtroom, inform them that the lawyers are working on identifying the transcripts they feel are relevant to the jurors’ first requests & clarify whether they want to hear all of the jury instructions again — which would take an hour — or portions.
The #jurors returned, & Justice Merchan reads the 2 notes they sent aloud to them as they sit in the #jury box.
#Merchan says the readback of the relevant testimony, which has not yet been located, will take ~30 mins. He asks them whether they want to hear all of the #JuryInstructions again, or part of them. He says that they can discuss that in private.