Donald Trump has been convicted on all counts in his first of four criminal trials, and the only case guaranteed to go to court before the 2024 election. Image source: Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been convicted of all 34 felony counts and found guilty of falsifying business records.
The trial lasted for six weeks, with a New York jury returning their verdict after deliberating for less than two days.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, both in this case and in the other three criminal cases he has been charged with. He is expected to appeal the decision.
Trump faces another 54 counts of criminal charges in total, to which he has also pled not guilty. These involve Trump’s classified documents federal case and two cases of election interference.
The other three cases currently do not have set trial dates.
The completed case revolved around falsified business records regarding a payment made to Stormy Daniels, an adult films actor and director, made in 2016. The prosecution argued this was done to protect Trump’s election campaign.
Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen testified that Trump approved a $130,000 payment to Daniels during the 2016 election.
Trump is now the first U.S. President to be convicted of a crime. He has proclaimed the trial was “a disgrace” and that he is a “very innocent man”.
He has also called the trial “rigged” and described the judge as “conflicted and corrupt”.
The Biden-Harris campaign, the democratic opposition to Trump’s Republican party, released a statement saying the verdict shows that “no one is above the law”.
“Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain.”
The statement also dubbed Trump a “convicted felon” and stated there was “only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box”.
Trump remains the Republican party presidential candidate, as current U.S. law does not prevent criminals from running for president.
The charges carry a potential sentence of up to four years in prison. However, due to Trump’s prior lack of criminal history, this may not be the chosen sentence.
The criminal charge will impact Trump’s ability to travel freely on his passport and will prevent him from owning a gun in the United States. If jailed, he will be unable to vote while incarcerated.
Justice Juan Merchan has set sentencing for July 11. He will not be jailed ahead of sentencing.
