Judge Merchan to jury: Here’s what needs to be proven in order to convict Trump of felonies

21 May 2024

Both the prosecution and the defense have officially rested their cases in former President Donald Trump's first criminal trial. Now, with a week to go before both sides present their closing arguments, Judge Juan Merchan has laid out the process for how jurors are to reach their verdict.

Politico reported Tuesday that in order to find Trump guilty of felony falsification of business records, they must agree that the falsification was done in order to cover up a separate crime. However, they don't all have to be in unanimous agreement on any of the three possible "predicate" crimes Merchan laid out. Those three predicate crimes are tax-related offenses, along with both state and federal campaign finance violations.

While defense lawyers unsuccessfully argued that jurors should have to agree unanimously on the predicate crime for each alleged instance of falsification, prosecutor Michael Colangelo countered that the law currently on the books doesn't require that threshold to be met. Merchan agreed with the prosecution's argument in his ruling.

"The importance of the case is not a basis for deviating from the standard application of the law," Colangelo said. "There’s no reason to rewrite the law for this case."

Merchan's ruling on Tuesday makes it easier for jurors to find Trump guilty on any of the 34 felony counts Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged him with. In order for a guilty verdict to be reached, jurors need to be unanimous. But unanimous agreement on a variety of predicate crimes – rather than on the same one — statistically increases the probability the ex-president could be a convicted felon by the time the GOP officially makes him its 2024 presidential nominee at this summer's Republican National Convention.

"In other words: If some jurors believe that Trump falsified business documents solely to cover up a tax crime, while others believe that he falsified business documents solely to cover up an election crime, the jury can still convict Trump on the felony-level falsifying-documents charges, despite disagreeing on the predicate crimes," Politico legal correspondent Josh Gerstein wrote.

During impromptu remarks in front of news cameras parked outside of the courtroom on Tuesday, Trump once again doubled down on his assertion that the entire process was a "sham" and that he was innocent of all charges. He also asserted without evidence on his Truth Social platform that the trial was a "witch hunt" orchestrated by President Joe Biden.

Trump's trial is now in its sixth week, and the defense rested its case after the testimony of its second and final witness, attorney Robert Costello. While Trump hinted that he may take the stand in his own defense, he ultimately decided not to do so.

Closing arguments are expected to take place on Tuesday, after which jurors will deliberate to determine a verdict. If the jury reaches a guilty verdict, it's a near-certainty that Trump will appeal, and that the appeal process will still be ongoing by the time of the presidential election this November.

Click here to read Gerstein's full report in Politico.

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