Former President Donald Trump said Thursday the “world is watching” his criminal trial in Manhattan and might decide not to do business in New York State because of its “rigged” judicial system.
Trump made the comments before he walked into his courtroom on the second day of jury deliberations.
“It’s all rigged. The whole thing, the whole system is rigged,” Trump told reporters. “It’s a disgrace.”
“This is a very sad day for America,” he continued. “The whole world is watching. And it’s a very sad day for New York.”
“The outside world is watching, and the outside world is just not going to bring their business to New York,” Trump warned. “Businesses are leaving, and people are fleeing.”
“But we’ll be here — looks like a long time,” Trump said about the jury deliberations. “Thank you”:
Thursday morning began with the rereading of jury instructions and a few key aspects of the trial transcript, per the request of the jury from Wednesday before the end of the day.
The jury instructions include the following, as reported:
- They must not make a decision based on biases or stereotypes;
- They must set aside personal differences;
- They must not speculate how long sentencing may be or what the punishment might be – that’s up to the judge;
- They can’t hold it against Trump for not testifying;
- The “people must prove beyond a reasonable doubt every element of the crime.” He reminds the jury it must not rest its verdict on speculation;
- They can consider whether a witness hopes to receive a benefit related to the trial, or if they have an interest in how the case ends;
- They cannot convict Trump on Michael Cohen’s testimony alone because he’s an accomplice, but they can use his evidence if corroborated with other evidence;
- The jury must be unanimous if they find Trump guilty on each count – on whether he committed the crime personally, acted in concert with others or both;
- They must determine if Trump conspired to promote someone or prevent them from public office by unlawful means;
- They should deliberate with a view toward reaching an agreement, without surrendering individual judgement;
- Jurors notes cannot be used in place of evidence;
- The foreperson will deliver the verdict for each count after deliberations are over;
- They must surrender their phones, and can only discuss the case when all 12 of them are together.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
