For most of Thursday, there were few signs of life from the jury in Donald Trump’s hush money trial.
That all changed shortly after 4 p.m. when the panel of 12 New Yorkers delivered a note to the judge saying they had reached a verdict in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.
The jury foreperson read the verdict aloud just feet from Trump, who has spent more than six weeks in court listening to testimony from 22 witnesses. Moments earlier, Trump and his legal team were in good spirits, with defense attorney Todd Blanche laughing and Trump smiling.
It took the jury less than two days to find Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Here’s what happened on Day 23 — the final day — of Trump’s hush money trial:
Reading the tea leaves
Before it resumed deliberations Thursday, the jury re-heard testimony it had requested from former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and Michael Cohen, Trump’s onetime lawyer and “fixer,” who was the star witness for the prosecution.
“The fact that they’re asking those questions is a good sign,” Alina Habba, a legal spokesperson for Trump, told NBC News after the jurors asked to review the testimony. Habba said it could indicate disagreement.
“You don’t want a quick turnaround,” she said, referring to a verdict.
Trump’s aides and allies swirled around the courthouse. Inside the courtroom, Trump’s son Eric sat behind his father, flanked by advisers like Boris Epshteyn and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a top contender to join Trump on the GOP ticket this fall.
The jury had also requested to re-hear part of the instructions state Judge Juan Merchan delivered to them the previous day.
After the morning’s courtroom proceedings, the jury resumed its deliberations.
Silence followed by a flurry of activity
In a media overflow room in the courthouse, video monitors showed the date and a ticking clock against a dark blue background.
The video feed was on standby for much of the afternoon. It resumed later in the day, showing prosecutors taking their seats, followed by Trump and his attorneys.
Tension hung over the court as Trump and Blanche sat shoulder to shoulder, clasping their hands over their mouths as they whispered to each other and laughed.
Merchan then delivered what many expected was the last bit of news for the day — the jury would be excused at 4:30 p.m.
Minutes later, however, he read a note: “We, the jury, have a verdict. We would like an extra 30 minutes to fill out the forms if that’d be possible.”
As Merchan made the announcement, Trump sat with his arms crossed, whispering to Blanche. Any levity seemed to dissipate from the defense table quickly. Trump’s attorneys, who were locked in animated conversation moments before, now hardly spoke.
The verdict was read quickly. It followed 9½ hours of deliberations.
Trump was stone-faced as Merchan announced the July 11 sentencing date.
For days, reporters had parsed every yawn and scribble from the jury for clues. Now, the 12 New Yorkers who found Trump guilty on all charges filed out of the room, walking past him and his attorneys. Trump, now the first U.S. president to be criminally convicted, displayed little emotion.
Moments later, Trump strode into the hallway to address the cameras and repeated many of his allegations throughout the trial.
“This was done by the Biden administration in order to wound, to hurt a political opponent,” he said, after he asserted that voters would decide the “real verdict” in the November election.
