Former President Donald Trump has indeed been found guilty on all 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records. The charges stem from a scheme that sought to cover up extramarital affairs in advance of the 2016 presidential election.
Specifically, the verdict is related to a hush money payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels near the end of the 2016 campaign.
The jury of seven men and five women at Manhattan Criminal Court deliberated for nearly 10 hours before convicting the former President of 34 charges of falsifying business records.
It was the first time a former U.S. President has faced a criminal trial and the verdict could upend the 2024 White House race, proving a pivotal moment in the history of the United States.
Speaking outside court Trump said: “This was a disgrace, this was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge.”
“The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people and they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here.”
“We didn’t do anything wrong. I’m a very innocent man. That’s OK, I’m fighting for our country, I’m fighting for our Constitution. Our whole country is being rigged right now. This was done by the Biden administration in order to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent.”
He added: “I think it’s just a disgrace. And we’ll keep fighting and fight till the end, and we’ll win because our country’s gone to hell.”
The former President’s son Donald Trump Jr. called the verdict a ‘joke’ and ‘such bull**
Alvin Bragg, the New York District Attorney, who brought the case, said he had ‘done his job’ as a public servant.
Bragg said: “While this defendant may be unlike any other in American history we arrived at this trial and, ultimately, today at this verdict in the same manner as every other case that comes to the courtroom doors – by following the facts and the law and doing so without fear or favor.”
He added: “I did my job. We did our job. There are many voices out there. The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury and the jury has spoken. Donald J. Trump has been convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records.”
Interestingly, former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton indirectly referred to the verdict during an award presentation at the Kennedy Center in Washington. She quipped, “Anything going on today? Well, I have to tell you, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here” .
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer succinctly stated, “No one is above the law,” emphasizing the significance of the verdict.
Trump’s legal team plans to appeal the decision, asserting that the trial venue was unfair and that they couldn’t get a fair trial in Manhattan.
