CBCNEWS
Twelve jurors weighing the evidence in former U.S. president Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial ended the first round of deliberations without a verdict on Wednesday, meaning there will be at least one more day in the first criminal trial for an American president.
Two and a half hours after jurors began closed-door deliberations, the group asked the judge for transcripts of some witness testimony.
It was unclear how long they would take to reach a verdict.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, charges that are punishable by up to four years in prison, though the judge would have discretion to issue a probationary sentence in the event of a conviction.
At the heart of the charges are reimbursements paid to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in exchange for not going public with her claim about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.
Trump had pleaded not guilty to the offences.
“Mother Teresa could not beat these charges,” he told reporters outside the courtroom, referring to the late nun and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. “The whole thing is rigged.”
