Trump trial jury reaches verdict in hush money case

• A jury in Manhattan, New York reached a verdict in the criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump.
• Trump was charged with falsifying business records related to a 2016 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels by his fixer Michael Cohen.
• Trump is set to face President Joe Biden in November’s presidential election.

A jury has reached a verdict Thursday in the criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump in New York.

The 12-member jury sent out a note to the trial judge at 4:20 p.m. ET.

"We the jury have a verdict. We would like an extra 30 minutes to fill out the forms if that'd be possible," the note said, according to Judge Juan Merchan, who read it out loud in the courtroom.

Jurors deliberated less than 10 hours over two days before sending out the note. Before the announcement, Trump, his lawyers, prosecutors and reporters expected the jury to be dismissed for the day at 4:30 p.m.

Trump was sitting in the courtroom with his arms crossed and a resigned look on his face minutes after the announcement was made.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr., whose office is prosecuting Trump, entered the courtroom after the note was sent out.

Trump, 77, is charged in the case with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels by his then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen before the 2016 election.

The verdict in Manhattan Supreme Court came hours after jurors heard readbacks of testimony by Cohen and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, as well as portions of legal instructions they received Wednesday from Merchan.

Trump is the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime.

The records at issue in the case relate to