Donald Trump has been found guilty in the hush money case, marking a significant legal defeat for the former president. This verdict comes after intense scrutiny and a highly publicized trial, drawing widespread attention and sparking numerous reactions across the political spectrum.
Donald Trump Found Guilty In Hush Money Case
On Thursday, a New York jury found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, marking the first time a former U.S. president has been convicted of a crime. The historic verdict came after 9½ hours of deliberations.
Trump will be sentenced on July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention. He faces penalties ranging from a fine to four years in prison for each count, although it is expected that any sentences would be served concurrently.
“This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt,” Trump told reporters afterward.
The verdict was delivered in a Manhattan courtroom where Trump had been on trial since April 15. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which stemmed from a hush money payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election.
Fmr US Prez Trump convicted in hush money case. He was was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a New York hush money trial. This marks the first time that a first former U.S. president is convicted of a crime. To have impact on upcoming US elections.
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) May 31, 2024
As the jury foreperson read “guilty” for each count, Trump looked down, eyes narrowed. The judge thanked the jurors for their service, noting their careful consideration throughout the trial. Trump appeared to scowl at the jurors as they exited the courtroom.
Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, immediately filed a motion for acquittal, which the judge denied.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment on the potential sentence, stating that his office would address it in court papers. Bragg emphasized the impartial approach to the case, saying, “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 — by following the facts and the law without fear or favor.”
In response to the verdict, Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, began fundraising, claiming on his website that he is “a political prisoner” and urging his supporters for donations.
Legal experts suggest that even if Trump is sentenced to prison, he would likely remain free during the appeals process, which could take months. This would allow him to accept the Republican nomination for president at the July convention and potentially not impact his eligibility to be elected. “There are no other qualifications other than those in the Constitution,” said Chuck Rosenberg, a former U.S. attorney and NBC News & MSNBC Legal Analyst.
President Joe Biden’s campaign praised the verdict in a statement but emphasized that defeating Trump at the ballot box is still essential.
“In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law,” said the campaign’s communications director, Michael Tyler. “But the verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box.”
In his closing argument, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass reminded the jury that “the law applies to everyone equally. There is no special standard for this defendant. You, the jury, have the ability to hold the defendant accountable,” Steinglass said.
Trump had maintained that the DA’s office had no case and that there had been no crime. “President Trump is innocent. He did not commit any crimes,” said Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche, arguing that the payments to Cohen were legitimate.
Prosecutors contended that the disguised payment to Cohen was part of a “planned, coordinated, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures, to silence people who had negative things to say about his behavior, using doctored corporate records and bank forms to conceal those payments along the way.”
Although Trump wasn’t charged with conspiracy, prosecutors argued that he caused the records to be falsified to cover up a violation of state election law, elevating the offense from a misdemeanor to a felony.
The conviction came after a sensational weekslong trial featuring combative testimony from Cohen, Trump’s self-described former fixer, and Stormy Daniels, who testified about her alleged 2006 encounter with Trump. Trump denied her claim, and his attorney suggested that Cohen act independently, believing it would please “the boss.”
Other witnesses included former White House staffers, such as adviser Hope Hicks, former Trump Organization executives, and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker. Trump did not testify, despite proclaiming before the trial that he would “absolutely” do so.
The defense’s primary witness, Robert Costello, a lawyer whom Cohen considered retaining in 2018, claimed Cohen had told him Trump had nothing to do with the Daniels payment. Costello’s conduct on the stand led the judge to clear the courtroom and threaten him with contempt.
Cohen testified that he lied to Costello and others about Trump’s involvement to protect his former boss. Cohen was the only witness to directly implicate Trump in the $130,000 payment and subsequent reimbursement plan, a claim Blanche challenged by questioning Cohen’s credibility.
Cohen said he was reimbursed through a series of payments in 2017 that were falsely characterized as payments for a retainer agreement “for legal services rendered.” Prosecutors argued there was no such agreement, and Cohen’s testimony was corroborated by documents and other witnesses.
Jeff McConney, a former senior vice president at Trump’s company, testified that the company’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, instructed him to reimburse Cohen for the $130,000 payment. Weisselberg’s handwritten notes on the payment formula were also presented as evidence. Cohen testified that Trump agreed to the arrangement in a meeting with him and Weisselberg just before Trump’s inauguration as the 45th president.
Weisselberg did not testify, as he is currently in jail on a perjury charge related to his testimony in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud case against Trump and his company. Witnesses described Weisselberg as always seeking Trump’s approval for significant expenditures.
Overall, the prosecution called 20 witnesses, while the defense called two. Trump repeatedly claimed that the charges were a political ploy by Biden to keep him off the campaign trail. Despite this, Trump managed to turn the trial into a campaign event, hosting top Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senators JD Vance and Rick Scott, as his guests in court.
He used court breaks to share political messages with his supporters while his surrogates attacked witnesses and prosecutors, skirting Merchan’s gag order. Judge Merchan fined Trump $10,000 during the trial for violating the gag order and warned that further violations could result in jail time.
Cohen celebrated the verdict on social media, writing, “Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law. While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters.”
