Donald Trump on Thursday became the first former US president to be convicted of a criminal crime, with a New York jury finding him guilty of falsifying documents to hide bribes paid to a former porn star in order to buy his silence before the 2016 American presidential election.
After two days of deliberations, the 12 members of the jury announced that they had concluded that Donald Trump was guilty of all 34 counts against him.
The jurors had to unanimously reach a verdict for it to be rendered. Donald Trump watched impassively as the jurors confirmed that they had reached a guilty verdict.
Judge Juan Merchan set the hearing for July 11 at which the conviction of the former real estate mogul will be known, four days before the start of the Republican Party’s national convention at which Donald Trump must formally be invested as the party’s candidate for the presidential election next November.
The verdict plunges the United States into uncertainty before the presidential election on November 5, in which Donald Trump is expected to face outgoing President, Democrat Joe Biden. Donald Trump, 77, denies any wrongdoing. One of his lawyers has indicated his intention to file an appeal quickly.
“It’s a shame. It was a rigged trial,” Donald Trump told reporters after the verdict was announced. “The real verdict will be rendered on November 5, by the people,” he added.
Donald Trump faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison. However, it is common for people convicted of this type of crime to receive shorter sentences, or simply fines.
A possible incarceration would not prevent Donald Trump from being a candidate in the presidential election, nor from returning to the White House in the event of victory in the election against Joe Biden.
“We will appeal as quickly as possible. We will request an expedited review of this case,” Will Scharf, one of Donald Trump’s lawyers, told Fox News.
“The only way to stop Donald Trump from entering the Oval Office is to vote”
Joe Biden’s campaign said the verdict demonstrated that no one was above the law and called on voters to decide against Donald Trump in the presidential election.
“The only way to stop Donald Trump from entering the Oval Office is to vote,” the Democratic president’s campaign said in a statement. The White House declined to comment.
According to opinion polls, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, aged 81, are neck and neck in voting intentions. A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that a conviction of Trump could cost him some support from independent and Republican voters.
Republican party members quickly condemned the verdict.
“This is a shameful day in American history,” said the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, in a statement.
Donald Trump was convicted of falsifying documents to disguise evidence of a payment made before the 2016 presidential election in an attempt to buy Stormy Daniels’ silence over an extramarital affair.
One of Donald Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche, asked Juan Merchan to overturn the verdict, arguing that it was based on the unreliable testimony of Michael Cohen, the billionaire’s former lawyer who allegedly paid $130,000 for buy the silence of Stormy Daniels; a request rejected by the judge.
The Republican candidate also faces three other criminal cases, relating to his efforts to overturn the result of the presidential election against Joe Biden in 2020 and his handling of sensitive government documents after leaving office in 2021.
None of these three cases are expected to be judged before the presidential election.
