Donald Trump made history on Thursday as the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes. A New York jury found him guilty on all thirty four counts of a scheme to pay hush money to a porn star during the 2016 election. A choice was made following over nine hours of deliberation. As the verdict was announced, Trump remained stoic in the face of applause from the public outside the courthouse.
. “This was a rigged, disgraceful trial,” he angrily told reporters. “The real verdict will be on Nov. 5 by the people. Everyone knows what happened here.”
Judge Juan M. Merchan set the sentencing date for July 11, just a few days before the Republican National Convention. GOP leaders are expected to formally nominate Trump despite the conviction. The charges, which could result in up to 4 years in prison, cast a major shadow over Trump’s bid to reclaim the presidency. The conviction is a consequential legal and political setback for Trump. It exposes him to imprisonment in New York, where his media manipulations initially propelled him to fame. As Trump continues his campaign, he faces the challenge of addressing these convictions with no scheduled rallies. He did attend a pre-planned fundraiser in Manhattan Thursday evening, and his campaign quickly began fundraising off the verdict which called him a “political prisoner.”
The charges stem from Trump’s falsification of business records to cover a $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, a porn actor who claimed she had an affair with Trump in 2006. Prosecutors declared the payment by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen illegal campaign contributions, covered up as legal expenses. Payments Were for Legal Services, Trump Said to Have Maintained Mr. Trump has denied the affair and his legal team has characterized the payments as legitimate legal expenses. His lawyers said the hush money was intended to abstain his family from embarrassment, not to influence the election. They also slammed Cohen as a less than credible witness, saying that he was just out for fame and settling old scores.
Jurors heard from various witnesses, including Cohen, who provided a detailed account of the hush money scheme and Trump’s involvement. Cohen described a meeting where a plan to reimburse him in monthly installments for legal services was discussed. David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, described how he assisted in preventing negative information about Trump from being made public while Stormy Daniels testified about her purported meeting with Trump.
Despite the verdict, Trump’s political career has shown resilience. He has survived two impeachments and numerous allegations of misconduct. Even though the conviction is serious, his core supporters might not be dissuaded, and it’s unclear how it will ultimately affect his presidential campaign. House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized the trial, calling it a “shameful day in American history” and labeling the case a “purely political exercise.” Due to issues with the judge’s impartiality and undue pretrial publicity, Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, declared that he would be filing an appeal of the decision.
As the first criminal trial of a former president, the case tested the judicial system’s ability to handle such a high-profile figure. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg highlighted the impartiality of the proceedings, stating, “We arrived at this verdict by following the facts and the law without fear or favor.”