Trump Criticizes Judge as Jury Deliberates in Hush Money Case: ‘Mother Teresa Could Not Beat These Charges’
Special Poll
Former President Trump expressed his outrage on Wednesday after his New York City criminal case was handed over to the jury for deliberation. He harshly criticized the judge and lamented that “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges.”
Trump addressed reporters outside the courtroom shortly after a jury of 12 New Yorkers began their deliberations in his hush money criminal case.
“Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. These charges are rigged. The whole country’s a mess, between the borders and fake elections, and you have a trial like this where the judge is so conflicted he can’t breathe,” Trump declared.
“It’s a disgrace. And I mean that. Mother Teresa could not beat those charges. But we’ll see. We’ll see how we do,” he added.
Political strategists suggest that Trump benefits from portraying the case as biased against him. This narrative can lower public expectations if he is convicted or enable him to claim victory over a “rigged” system if he is acquitted.
Trump faces 34 felony charges for allegedly falsifying business records to hide a hush money payment made to a porn actress in the final days of his 2016 presidential campaign. This payment was intended to keep their alleged affair from a decade earlier secret. Typically, these charges are brought as misdemeanors, but for Trump to be found guilty of felonies, jurors must conclude that he acted with the intent to further another crime.
The jury’s decision, whether to convict Trump or result in a hung jury if they cannot unanimously agree on all 34 counts, could be announced at any time. None of the jurors looked at Trump as they passed by him while exiting the courtroom to begin deliberations.
Judge Juan Merchan has required Trump to remain at the courthouse throughout the deliberations. It is standard for judges to ask criminal defendants and attorneys on both sides to stay near the courtroom to be readily available in case of a note or verdict.