Judge Juan Merchan has completed his review of the issues he wanted to examine and has now invited both sides to raise any additional points they wish to discuss.
During the proceedings, Trump attorney Emil Bove brought up an instruction related to bias and Trump that he claims was altered from the Trump Org. trial. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass countered this by stating that such an instruction was unnecessary in this case as any potential bias had already been addressed during the voir dire process. Voir dire is a crucial phase in a trial where potential jurors are questioned by the judge and attorneys to ensure they can be impartial.
Steinglass further explained that the purpose of the instruction in the Trump Org. trial was to remind the jury that Trump was not a party to the case being tried. Despite not typically giving this instruction, Judge Merchan agreed to include the government's modified version in this case.
Additionally, Merchan announced that he would provide an instruction on bias and highlighted the thoroughness of the questionnaire used, which contained 42 or 43 questions, along with the extensive voir dire process.
