Donald Trump has been found guilty on all counts in his historic New York criminal trial, becoming the first former or sitting president to be convicted of a crime. A panel of 12 Manhattan jurors unanimously convicted him on 34 counts of falsifying business records on Thursday, with sentencing now set for July 11.
Over a six-week trial, the court heard from 22 witnesses, including Stormy Daniels, whose alleged sexual encounter with the former president was at the center of the case. Trump, 77, called the verdict a “disgrace,” adding: “We’ll fight to the end.”
The former president was accused of having concealed a payment to buy the silence of Ms. Daniels, a former adult-film star, in the final days of his 2016 election campaign. Prosecutors had argued that, by approving a scheme to disguise the money as legal expenses, Trump broke election law.
His sentencing will come just days before the start of the Republican National Convention, when he is due to be confirmed as the party’s candidate to face Joe Biden, the Democratic incumbent, in November. While he could in theory face prison, a financial penalty is seen as the more likely punishment.
For now, Trump has been released without having to pay bail. The former president pursed his lips and turned to look at the jurors as they delivered their guilty verdicts, which came after two days of deliberations.
Amid a massive police presence outside court afterward, Trump said: “This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt.” He added that the “real verdict” was “going to be November 5 by the people” and that “this is long from over.”
As he spoke, hundreds of onlookers gathered, and a helicopter circled overhead. He was expected to speak again to media in front of Trump Tower in New York City on Friday morning.
At a news conference, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment on whether he would seek a prison term for Trump. Asked about criticism of the case – his predecessor had opted not to bring the charges against Trump – the Democratic prosecutor said: “I did my job.” “Our job is to follow the facts without fear or favor, and that’s what we did here.”
The conviction does not prevent Trump from standing in November’s election, but he is almost certain to appeal against it regardless. It is unclear how the verdict will affect the presidential race, although some polls have previously suggested voters in several key swing states would be less likely to vote for Trump if he had a criminal conviction.
Brian Hughes, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said its digital fundraising system had seen a record number of supporters following the verdict. If Trump were to defeat Mr. Biden, he would become the first convicted criminal to occupy the White House.
