Former President Donald J. Trump has been convicted by a Manhattan jury for falsifying business records linked to the Stormy Daniels hush money scandal, marking him as the first U.S. president in history to be found guilty of a felony. He was found guilty on all 34 counts.
Trump could now be sentenced to a maximum of 4 years in prison on each count, though he’s a first-time offender and these were non-violent crimes. As the guilty verdicts were announced on each count, the former president, initially gazing forward, shifted his gaze towards the jury box with each juror’s confirmation of their verdict. He resumed looking directly ahead, his expression unchanged, while Judge Juan Merchan expressed gratitude to the jurors. The date for sentencing has been scheduled for July 11.
“It was a rigged trial, it was a disgrace,” Trump said outside the courtroom on Thursday. “The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people. We didn’t do a thing wrong. I am a very innocent man,” he continued. “We have a country that is in big trouble.”
The charges revolve around an alleged scheme to conceal a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The aim was to prevent her from revealing a purported 2006 affair with Trump before the 2016 election.
As the clock ticked down in the courtroom, Merchan prepared to dismiss the jurors for the day. However, at approximately 4:20 p.m., plans changed when a note from the jury arrived, delaying their dismissal until the verdict could be heard, according to Fox News.
According to Judge Merchan who announced the message aloud in the courtroom, the jury declared, “We have a verdict. We would like an extra 30 minutes to fill out the forms if that’d be possible.” The note emerged after jurors deliberated for less than 10 hours over the span of two days.
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The cornerstone of the prosecution’s argument was centered on establishing Trump’s intention to conceal the payment to Daniels. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, alleged he facilitated this payment through a home equity line of credit to keep it hidden from his wife.
Cohen, dubbed the “star witness” by the prosecution, claimed that Trump had instructed him to “handle it” to prevent a scandal from surfacing before the election. On the other hand, Trump’s defense team strongly refuted the claim that Trump had issued any such instructions to Cohen concerning the payment.