3:42 p.m. ET, May 29, 2024
Analysis: 2015 Trump Tower meeting is a natural place for jury to start deliberations, CNN legal analysts say
The jury’s request to hear testimony again around the August 2015 meeting at Trump Tower is a natural place to start deliberations, CNN legal analysts say.
Prosecutors say David Pecker, Donald Trump and Michael Cohen were all present at that meeting. It’s the moment when Pecker allegedly agreed to be the “eyes and ears” for Trump’s campaign and flag any negative stories to Cohen.
“This is right down the middle of where you want them to be and if you track the closing argument that we heard from the DA, (Joshua) Steinglass yesterday, he cast that Trump Tower meeting August 2015 as chapter one of this whole story. That’s where it all started,” CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said.
“So it’s a perfectly natural, logical place for the jury to start,” he added.
The jury has been deliberating for more than four hours. They got the case Wednesday morning.
CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams said these requests likely suggest the jury is trying to understand Trump’s intent. They are trying to figure out what Pecker, Trump and Cohen talked about and if Trump knew he was directing or participating in a scheme, Williams said.
The defense previously argued that the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels was carried out by Cohen alone, while the prosecution has been trying to show Trump knew what was happening the whole time.
