Former President Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 crimes by the jury in his “hush money” trial Thursday in New York, making him the first former president in U.S. history to be convicted of a crime.
The jury, made up of 12 Manhattan residents, found that Trump illegally falsified business records to cover up a Payment of $130,000 on adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. He was found guilty of all charges second day of deliberations.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee is now also a convicted felon, a label that could have an impact on the electorate during the months leading up to election day in November.
The verdict was handed down in the same Manhattan courtroom where Trump has been on trial for the past six weeks. Trump stared at each juror as they confirmed their vote to convict and angrily denounced the decision in the courtroom hallway, vowing to fight the conviction.
Jurors sided with prosecutors who said Trump authorized the scheme to falsify the checks and related records in an effort to prevent voters from learning about an alleged sexual encounter with Daniels. Prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said the conspiracy spanned his 2016 campaign and continued into his first year in the White House. Trump denied having sex with Daniels and pleaded not guilty.
Judge Juan Merchan set the sentence on July 11, just four days before the start of the Republican National Convention, where Trump will be formally designated as the party's standard-bearer. he could face up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine for each count, but Merchan has broad discretion in imposing a sentence and could limit the punishment to a fine, probation, house arrest or other options.
the jury asked to review various parts of the testimony and the judge's instructions Thursday morning before deliberating behind closed doors for several hours. This is how the historic day unfolded, since the jurors alerted the court that they had reached a verdict:
