The second day of jury deliberations in the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump continued much as it did the first, with jurors again requesting the judge repeat parts of a 53-page instruction booklet that he refused to give them in writing. One portion, in particular, being requested is Judge Juan Merchan’s bizarre metaphor about rainfall.
The metaphor, read in court by Merchan yesterday, went as follows according to CNN:
“For example, suppose you go to bed one night when it is not raining and when you wake up in the morning, you look out your window; you do not see rain, but you see that the street and sidewalk are wet, and that people are wearing raincoats and carrying umbrellas. Under those circumstances, it may be reasonable to infer, that is conclude, that it rained during the night. In other words, the fact of it having rained while you were asleep is an inference that might be drawn from the proven facts of the presence of the water on the street and sidewalk, and people in raincoats and carrying umbrellas.”
If observers found Merchan’s storytelling skills a little lacking, they aren’t alone. His rain metaphor is among nearly 30 pages being read back to the jury Thursday morning after jurors expressed frustration when being asked to essentially memorize dozens of pages of instructions. An NBC legal correspondent noted on Wednesday that Merchan and both sides in the case failed to reach an agreement about providing the jury with written instructions and transcripts of testimony, with some fearing that physically reading the words of witnesses could cloud their memories about the trial itself.
Judge Merchan also rocked the trial when he told the 12-member jury that unanimous agreement is not required to find the former president guilty on all of the 34 felony counts against him, according to Fox News reporter John Roberts. As an example, Merchan said three sets of four jurors could find Trump guilty of different crimes, an outcome he would treat as a “unanimous verdict.”
The muddled metaphors and expansive definition of guilt have left Trump supporters believing more firmly than ever that the trial against the Republican is being rigged by a judge whose own daughter is a Democratic political operative for Nancy Pelosi. Despite being placed under a gag order, President Trump has rebuked Merchan for treating him unfairly and paid $9,000 in fines after violating the order while targeting his daughter and witnesses in the case.
