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Trump’s guilty verdict lays US election on bumpy road
The ruling was issued after nine and a half hours of deliberations in the Manhattan courtroom where Trump had been on trial for the past six weeks over falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment meant to silence adult movie actress Stormy Daniels and prevent her from publicizing their sexual encounters.
The septuagenarian also faces three more serious criminal indictments over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden and keeping top-secret documents at his home in Florida.
Judge Juan Merchan thanked the jurors for their service in the weeks-long trial, saying, “You gave this matter the attention it deserved, and I want to thank you for that.”
Merchan set sentencing for July 11, four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in the midwestern state of Wisconsin, where the 77-year-old is due to receive the party’s formal nomination for the November 5 vote.
Speaking to reporters in the hallway outside the Manhattan courtroom, Trump reacted angrily to the jury’s unanimous verdict and railed against the judge.
“This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt,” he said, reiterating the criticism he has leveled at the court since the trial began.
Stressing that the case is “far from over,” the presumptive Republican nominee said, “The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people, and they know what happened here and everybody knows what happened here. We’ll fight to the end.”
However, Biden’s campaign praised the verdict in a statement and underlined that Trump needs to be defeated in November.
“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.”
Charles Schumer, the Democratic leader of the US Senate, said the verdict “speaks for itself,” stressing, “No one is above the law.”
Adam Schiff, a California congressman and one of the impeachment prosecutors of Trump, said that while justice prevailed, the verdict “will only increase Donald Trump’s attempts to discredit the justice system and tear down our democracy … it is up to us to make sure it continues to prevail.”
Michael Cohen, one of the witnesses for the prosecution, said Thursday’s verdict “is an important day for accountability and the rule of law,” adding, “While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters.”
The presumptive GOP nominee could be sentenced to four years behind bars for each count but is more likely to receive probation.
As per the US Constitution, the conviction does not bar Trump from continuing his campaign or becoming president, and he can still vote for himself in his home state of Florida as long as he stays out of prison in New York state.