WASHINGTON — Jurors in New York state court on Thursday found former President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star ultimately to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
The first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president wrapped up in Manhattan, marking an extraordinary moment in American history not only for a former leader but for one seeking to hold the Oval Office again. Trump, the Republican Party’s presumed 2024 presidential nominee, is now a convicted felon.
The jury deliberated for more than 11 hours, beginning Wednesday just before 11:30 a.m. Eastern and delivering the verdict to Justice Juan Merchan just after 5 p.m. Thursday, according to reporters at the courthouse.
Trump now faces penalties ranging from probation to up to four years in prison for each charge of falsifying business records in the first degree.
Merchan set a sentencing date for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention where Trump is expected to be officially nominated as the party’s presidential candidate.
New York state prosecutors charged 34 felonies against the former president for each of the 11 invoices, 11 checks, and 12 ledger entries tied to reimbursing his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
Cohen, often referred to as Trump’s former “fixer,” said during trial testimony that he wired $130,000 to adult film star and director Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
Three criminal cases, two federal and one in Georgia, also still hang in the balance for Trump, but the likelihood of another trial happening before November’s election is slim.
Read more of the Ashley Murray article in the Indiana Capital Chronicle, here.
