A jury on Thursday found former President Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records, making him the first-ever president to be convicted of a felony.
Speaking outside the courthouse, Trump maintained his innocence and said the American people would deliver the “real verdict” on Election Day.
“This was a rigged, disgraceful trial. The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people, and they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here.”
Trump will be sentenced on July 11, only four days before the Republican National Convention. It’s possible Judge Juan Merchan will choose to only levy a fine or probation, rather than hand out jail time.
To find Trump guilty, the jurors had to determine the former president falsified business records to conceal a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.
The jury also had to be convinced that Trump falsified the business records as part of an unlawful effort to defraud the public ahead of the 2016 presidential election by either by either violating the Federal Election Campaign Act; falsifying additional business records; or violating tax laws.
Republicans voiced outrage over the verdict, which Trump is certain to appeal.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called it a “shameful day in American history.”
"The weaponization of our justice system has been a hallmark of the Biden Administration, and the decision today is further evidence that Democrats will stop at nothing to silence dissent and crush their political opponents."
Florida Gov. Ron Desantis (R) dismissed the verdict as an effort brought by “a leftist prosecutor, a partisan judge and a jury reflective of one of the most liberal enclaves in America.”
"If the defendant were not Donald Trump, this case would never have been brought, the judge would have never issued similar rulings, and the jury would have never returned a guilty verdict.This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one."
President Biden's campaign said the verdict was evidence that "no one is above the law."
This is a breaking news story…stay with The Hill all night for live updates from the court in Manhattan…
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