In the meantime, he remains free.
The former tenant of the White House (2017-2021), who in a decade shook up American democracy, remained stoic, with his shoulders lowered, in the courtroom after the reading of the verdict.
Leaving this room where he has come every day since mid-April, he described himself as an “innocent man”, criticizing a “rigged” trial which would be a “shame”.
Defiant, he assured that the “real verdict” would fall on November 5, before returning to his Trump Tower. He will give a press conference there on Friday morning.
“No one is above the law,” responded Joe Biden’s campaign, warning that only the “ballot” will ensure that Donald Trump does not return to the Oval Office.
In front of the Manhattan courthouse, anti-Trump demonstrators congratulated each other when they learned of the historic verdict.
“I’m 60 years old, I’m a gay New Yorker (…) and this is one of the rare times where, truly, no one is above the law in the United States of America “, rejoiced John Rudy.
– Uncertain consequences –
After two days of deliberations, the 12 jurors unanimously declared Donald Trump guilty of all 34 crimes of falsifying accounting documents, intended to hide a payment of $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels to avoid a sex scandal at the very end of his 2016 presidential campaign.
“You gave this matter the attention it deserved,” Judge Merchan, whom Donald Trump has often called “corrupt,” told the jurors, his voice trembling.
In theory, the former president faces up to four years in prison, possibly accompanied by a fine. But the judge can also impose a suspended prison sentence, or even community service.
The verdict falls in the middle of the presidential campaign, as the first debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden looms, on June 27, and the Republican convention in Milwaukee, from July 15 to 18.
Five months before the election, the consequences of this decision on the ballot are difficult to predict, especially since the Republican magnate is expected to appeal.
Since 2023, his indictments in four separate criminal cases and his three civil convictions — legal troubles that he describes as a “witch hunt” orchestrated by the Democratic establishment — have not prevented him from winning handily his party’s primary.
But according to several polls, some of the voters favorable to Donald Trump could now give up voting for him.
– Sex scandal –
Deprived of a campaign on the ground, Donald Trump still used his trial to capture media attention, speaking several times a day outside the courtroom.
However, he refused to testify during his trial.
For six weeks, the jurors delved behind the scenes of the 2016 presidential campaign, ultimately victorious but where the fear of a sex scandal seemed omnipresent in the Trump camp.
Stormy Daniels received, a few days before the election, $130,000 to keep quiet about a sexual relationship she claims to have had with Donald Trump in 2006, when he was still a real estate and entertainment mogul and he was already married to his wife Melania.
The testimony of the ex-actress was one of the high points of the debates. She notably recounted in detail this sexual relationship, according to her consensual but where the “balance of power” was “unbalanced”. Donald Trump denies that this episode took place.
The $130,000 was paid to the actress by the billionaire’s former confidant, Michael Cohen, who has since become his sworn enemy. The latter soberly hailed Thursday as “an important day” for the “truth”.
When Michael Cohen was reimbursed in 2017, by several checks signed by Donald Trump, then in the White House, the expenses were disguised as “legal expenses” in the accounts of the Trump Organization.
For prosecutors, behind these accounting falsifications, “the heart of (the) affair, (was) a conspiracy and a cover-up” to win the election against Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The defense brushed aside this theory, ensuring that Donald Trump, who became president, did not know the details of the paperwork when he paid Michael Cohen.
