Donald Trump found guilty on all 34 counts at hush money criminal trial
Donald Trump became the first US president to be convicted of a crime on Thursday when a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a adult star ahead of the 2016 election.
After deliberations over two days, the 12-member jury announced it had found Trump guilty on all 34 counts he faced, news agency Reuters reported. Unanimity was required for any verdict.
Justice Juan Merchan set sentencing for July 11, days before the July 15 start of the Republican National Convention expected to formally nominate Trump for president.
Merchan thanked the jurors for their service. “Nobody can make you do anything you don’t want to do. The choice is yours,” Merchan said.
The verdict plunges the United States into unexplored territory ahead of the November 5 presidential election, when Trump, the Republican candidate, will try to win the White House back from Democratic President Joe Biden.
He faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison, though others convicted of that crime often receive shorter sentences, fines or probation. Incarceration would not prevent him from campaigning, or taking office if he were to win.
He will not be jailed ahead of sentencing.
Trump, 77, has denied wrongdoing and was expected to appeal.
Speaking outside the courtroom, Trump said, “We didn’t do a thing wrong, I am a very innocent man. We’ll keep fighting. We’ll fight to the end, and we’ll win.”
“The real verdict is going to be on November 5 by the people. This was a rigged decision from day one,” he added.
Opinion polls show Trump and Biden, 81, locked in a tight race, and Reuters/Ipsos polling has found that a guilty verdict could cost Trump some support from independent and Republican voters.
A source familiar with the Trump campaign’s inner workings said the verdict was expected to prompt him to intensify deliberations on picking a woman as his vice presidential running mate, according to Reuters.
The jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business documents after sitting through a six-week trial that featured explicit testimony from adult star Stormy Daniels about a adult encounter she says she had with Trump in 2006 while he was married to his current wife Melania. Trump denies ever having adult with Daniels.
(With inputs from Reuters)
