Former President Trump was found guilty on Thursday on all 34 felony counts in his New York criminal trial, making him the first-ever former U.S. president to be a convicted felon.
Why it matters: The verdict introduces unprecedented legal and political questions that will have an undeniable impact on the 2024 presidential campaign.
- The presumptive GOP presidential nominee will be sentenced on July 11, four days before the start of the Republican National Convention.
- Trump’s guilty verdict fueled his efforts to paint himself as the victim of politically motivated prosecutors.
What they’re saying: Minutes after the verdict, Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita wrote on the social media platform X: “The FIX was always in …”
- Trump said from the Manhattan courthouse after being convicted that “the real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people.”
- “We’ll keep fighting and we’ll fight to the end and we’ll win,” Trump said.
- He said in a post on his Truth Social platform shortly after: “This was a disgrace—a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who is corrupt. We will fight for our constitution—This is long from over!”
State of play: Trump attorney Todd Blanche told CNNThursday evening the former president’s legal team would launch post-trial motions in the coming weeks.
- “If that is not successful, then as soon as we can appeal we will,” he said on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.”
- “And the process in New York is there’s a sentencing, and then we appeal from there.”
- The appeals process is unlikely to conclude before November.
Zoom out: Trump was charged last year with 34 felony counts in the first degree of falsifying business records in the first degree in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels over an alleged sexual encounter.
- Prosecutors sought to prove to the 12-person jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump intentionally falsified business records to commit or conceal another crime.
- The jury deliberated for two days after hearing testimony in the case for more than a month.
Zoom in: Trump’s conviction raises unprecedented legal questions as he seeks to win back the White House.
- For instance, it’s not yet clear whether Trump will be able to vote in November, as some states have laws that limit felons’ voting rights.
Catch up quick: The trial featured salacious details about Daniels’ alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
- Daniels described in detail the night she says she met Trump for dinner after meeting him at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in July 2006.
The trial also brought Trump face-to-face with his former fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen.
- Cohen testified that Trump directed him to make the $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels in the days before the 2016 presidential election.
- He also said that Trump approved the reimbursement plan to pay Cohen back for the payment to Daniels, an assertion that was at the heart of the charges against Trump.
What to watch: It is looking increasingly likely that Trump’s New York criminal trial will be the only one to wrap up before the November election.
- His legal strategy to delay the proceedings of his criminal indictments has thrown the three remaining cases into limbo.
How can such leaders contest elections