The New York jury on Thursday found former president Trump guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records, stemming from his former personal lawyer’s payment of hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
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First conviction of a U.S. president
Sentencing date before key Republican event
Hush money incident
Trump claims innocence
Biden campaign team: Trump is a threat to democracy
Trump’s sentencing may impact the election
77-year-old Trump becomes the first convicted president in U.S. history and still faces three pending criminal cases. In addition to the criminal convictions, Trump also faces a $45 million civil judgment for business fraud from the Manhattan Supreme Court. He is also appealing two civil defamation judgments, which awarded nearly $90 million to the author who accused Trump of rape in the mid-1990s.
The Manhattan Supreme Court judge has scheduled Trump’s sentencing date for 10 a.m. on July 11th Eastern Time, just a few days before the Republican National Convention, where Trump is expected to be confirmed as the Republican presidential candidate.
Although each charge against Trump carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, Trump’s legal team has stated plans to appeal.
These charges involve Trump and the Trump Organization falsifying business records to conceal payments made to his former personal lawyer, who had given adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep silent about her extramarital affair with Trump in 2006. Both parties have confirmed that the payment was intended to prevent the story from affecting Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump maintained his unchanged attitude during the reading of the verdict. His son displayed obvious anger when each guilty verdict was announced by the jury. After the verdict, Trump claimed his innocence and called the trial a “disgrace,” accusing the judge of corruption.
President Biden’s campaign team quickly responded, stating that Trump’s conviction highlighted his threat to democracy. A campaign spokesperson stated that the only way to prevent Trump from returning to the White House is through the ballot.
The Manhattan District Attorney who prosecuted the case praised the jury’s dedication. He pointed out that despite involving a former president, the trial proceeded like any other case, with the jury reviewing a significant amount of evidence and hearing testimony from 22 witnesses.
If Trump is not imprisoned this fall, he will still retain the right to run for office. As the legal battle continues, these events have a significant impact on his political future and the Republican Party.
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