New York: Former US President Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up his sexual affair with a porn star just as he prepares to enter the White House again.
It took the jury of 12 ordinary citizens 10 hours to come to their decision, which made the New York business mogul -- who pleaded not guilty and denied all wrongdoing -- the first president in American history to be criminally convicted.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg took to his X to post: “Today, a jury found Donald J Trump GUILTY on ALL 34 felony counts”. The 34 counts stemmed from 11 invoices, 12 vouchers, and 11 checks, and most of them showed that Trump falsified his business records by showing payments to Stormy Daniels as legal expenses for his lawyer, Michael Cohen, who became the prosecution's key witness.
The sentencing of Trump -- impeached twice while in office -- is scheduled for July 11, just four days before the Republican Party Convention hopes to formally declare him as presidential candidate. According to a Forbes report, each of the 34 counts is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 per offense and/or up to four years in prison.
As he exited the court holding his son Eric Trump's hand, a stone-faced Trump said the real verdict will be in November when the country goes to the polls. He called the trial "rigged and disgraceful" and said Judge Juan Merchan was "corrupt". “We will fight for our Constitution. This is long from over,” he said as he left. “We don't have the same country anymore, we have a divided mess.”
Trump said on Truth Social he is planning a press conference at Trump Tower on May 31. With his unprecedented felony conviction, a Biden’s campaign spokesman lauded: “No one is above the law.”
Meanwhile, experts told ABC News that Trump can still be elected president even after being convicted but there are practical reasons that could make it a challenge. The other cases against the Republican leader relate to his alleged conduct during the 2020 election and how he dealt with classified documents. He has pleaded not guilty in those cases and denies the charges.
