By T. Jayani, JadeTimes News
Former President Donald Trump and some of his supporters are expressing dissatisfaction with the judge in his hush money criminal trial, alleging that he isn't requiring a unanimous jury verdict. However, this claim isn't entirely accurate.
The twelve jurors in Trump's criminal case started their deliberations and are scheduled to review parts of the jury instructions from Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. EDT, along with specific trial transcript sections that will be read aloud.
Trump voiced his concerns on Truth Social, calling it "RIDICULOUS, UNCONSTITUTIONAL, AND UNAMERICAN" that the "highly Conflicted, Radical Left Judge" isn't demanding a unanimous decision on what he termed "fake charges." He described it as a "THIRD WORLD ELECTION INTERFERENCE HOAX!" in a mix of all caps and regular text. Trump is not alone in his criticism.
Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio tweeted that Trump's jury doesn't need to "unanimously agree on which crime was committed as long as they all at least pick one". South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem also tweeted that the judge's jury instructions contradict a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on jury unanimity for federal law violations.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Judge Merchan instructed the jury that they must reach a unanimous verdict on each count. The complexity arises from the multiple determinations jurors must make to convict Trump on any count. Since Trump is charged with felonies, jurors must conclude not only that he falsified business records but also that his intent was to commit or conceal another crime.
Prosecutors claim Trump falsified records to interfere in the 2016 presidential election using "unlawful means," citing three specific violations, breaking federal campaign finance laws via a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, falsifying another business record under New York law related to Michael Cohen's payment to Daniel’s lawyer, and violating New York tax laws.
Jurors must unanimously agree that Trump used some unlawful means to interfere in the election, but they don't need to agree on which specific means, according to Merchan. He instructed, "Although you must conclude unanimously that the defendant conspired to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means, you need not be unanimous as to what those unlawful means were".
Nonetheless, Merchan clarified that the verdict must be unanimous. "Your verdict, on each count you consider, whether guilty or not guilty, must be unanimous, that is each and every juror must agree to it," he stated.