NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Thursday was found guilty on all 34 felony counts in his criminal hush money trial.
It was the first time a former U.S. president was ever tried or convicted in a criminal case, and was the first of Trump’s four indictments to reach trial.
Prosecutors accused Trump of falsifying internal business records to cover up hush money payments tied to an alleged scheme to bury stories that might torpedo his 2016 White House bid.
At the heart of the charges were reimbursements paid to Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in exchange for not going public with her claim about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.
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Prosecutors said the reimbursements were falsely logged as “legal expenses” to hide the true nature of the transactions.
The charges Trump faces are punishable by up to four years in prison. He has denied any wrongdoing and had pleaded not guilty.
Judge Juan M. Merchan has set Trump’s sentencing for July 11.
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— Trump hush money case: A timeline of key events
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS SWIFTLY CONDEMN VERDICT
Trump allies released a flurry of statements just minutes after the jury’s decision in Donald Trump’s hush money case was announced.
“The verdict in New York is a complete travesty that makes a mockery of our system of justice,” Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who is a potential vice president pick, posted on the social platform X.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican who is second in line to the presidency, in a statement called the trial “a purely political exercise, not a legal one.” Johnson added: “President Trump will rightfully appeal this absurd verdict—and he WILL WIN!”
Ahead of the jury announcing a verdict, one Republican urged people to respect the legal process.
Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland who is now running for the Senate, wrote on X that “all leaders—regardless of party—must not pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship. We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law.”
SENTENCING SCHEDULED FOR JULY
Judge Juan M. Merchan has scheduled Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case for July 11, just days before Republicans are set to select him as the 2024 presidential nominee.
JUDGE DENIES DEFENSE’S POST-VERDICT REQUEST TO ACQUIT TRUMP
Defense lawyers in Donald Trump’s hush money trial moved for an acquittal of the former president after the jury had delivered its verdict.
Defense lawyer Todd Blanche told Judge Juan M. Merchan: “We move for a judgment of acquittal.”
“There’s no basis and no way this jury could have reached a verdict without accepting the testimony of Michael Cohen,” Blanche said.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass rebutted the assertion, saying “We, of course, disagree with Mr. Blanche’s characterization of Michael Cohen’s testimony.”
Merchan denied the motion.
JURY FINDS TRUMP GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES
The jury in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has found him guilty on all of the charges against him.
A LAST-MINUTE CHANGE OF PLANS
The “hurry up and wait” beat of jury deliberations in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has given way to anticipatory tension — and some surprise. The jury transmitted the news that it reached a verdict by note to Judge Juan M. Merchan at 4:20 p.m. on Thursday, just few minutes after he’d announced to the courtroom — minus the jury — that court would adjourn at 4:30 p.m. barring a verdict.
Merchan said his plan was to allow jurors to keep working until that time and then send them home to start fresh on Friday.
Moments later, that plan went out the window. The verdict will be read in court soon.
TRUMP WAITS FOR READING OF VERDICT
Donald Trump is now sitting in the courtroom with his arms folded across his chest as he awaits the reading of the verdict in his hush money trial.
JURY REACHES A VERDICT AND REQUESTS EXTRA TIME TO FINALIZE FORMS
The jury in Donald Trump’s hush money case has reached a verdict. It asked for and additional 30 minutes to fill out the form.
JURY WILL DELIBERATE UNTIL 4:30 P.M. THURSDAY, JUDGE SAYS
Judge Juan Merchan announced jurors in Donald Trump’s hush money trial will continue deliberating until 4:30 p.m. and then, if they haven’t reached a verdict, they will be sent home for the day and resume their work on Friday.
Merchan summoned Trump, his lawyers and prosecutors to the courtroom to inform them of his scheduling plans. The former president told reporters in the hallway before entering, “I want to campaign.”
Once inside, he surveyed the crowd as he walked to his seat at the defense table. His son Eric returned to his place in the gallery behind the defense table.
Following the judge’s announcement, Trump and one of his attorneys, Todd Blanche, had an animated, whispered exchange, but Blanche was smiling.
IN A COURTROOM DEVOID OF JUDGE AND JURY, REPORTERS WAIT FOR NEWS
As deliberations wear on in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, it’s a bit of the old adage “hurry up and wait” at the New York courthouse.
With the jury working in secret in a separate room, and Trump and his team holed up elsewhere in the building, reporters remain in the courtroom waiting for word — or rather the sound — of a new development.
Each time the jury has a question — and eventually, if it reaches a verdict — it must send a note to the judge. The way it signals that it has a note is by ringing a bell that blares in the courtroom. The sound is akin to that of an old telephone or alarm clock.
So far Thursday, the bell hasn’t rung at all. It tolled twice within an hour on Wednesday signaling notes from the jury to have certain testimony read to them along with a portion of the jury instructions.
That’s made for a somewhat surreal scene in the normally bustling Manhattan courtroom. The front of the room where the action happens is empty, save for a few court officers and staff: no judge, no prosecutors, no defense team, no former president, and certainly no jurors.
The room that reverberated with dramatic testimony and tense arguments over the last six weeks is now eerily quiet, save for the clicks of laptop keys and the din of chatter amongst reporters and members of the public sitting, watching and waiting for the bell to ring.
NORTH DAKOTA’S BURGUM SEEN OUTSIDE OF MANHATTAN COURTROOM
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, seen as one of the potential running mates for Donald Trump, was outside the courthouse in Manhattan on Thursday doing television interviews.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is being tried on 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Burgum was among the Republican officials who accompanied Trump to court in recent weeks as a show of support, but he was not seen inside court with him Thursday.
Also seen outside the courthouse was Trump senior campaign advisor Jason Miller. He said Trump is “doing great” when asked how the former president was doing while waiting for the jury to deliberate. Miller is among the aides who accompanied Trump on Thursday.
The former president is accused of falsifying internal Trump Organization records as part of a scheme to bury damaging stories that he feared could hurt his 2016 campaign, particularly as Trump’s reputation was suffering at the time from comments he had made about women.
The courtroom has closed for lunch. Proceedings resume at 2:15 p.m.
TRUMP PROCLAIMS INNOCENCE AS JURY DELIBERATES
Former President Donald Trump is continuing to rail against his hush-money trial and proclaim his innocence.
“I DID NOTHING WRONG! IN FACT, I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT,” he wrote on Truth Social. “The testimony in Court was amazing for the Defense!”
Trump has pleaded not guilty.
The jury began its second day of deliberations on Thursday. The panel is deciding whether to convict or acquit Trump of some, all or none of the felony counts he’s charged with.
The former president is accused of falsifying internal Trump Organization records as part of a scheme to bury damaging stories that he feared could hurt his 2016 campaign, particularly as Trump’s reputation was suffering at the time from comments he had made about women.
JURORS ARE SENT TO RESUME DELIBERATIONS
Jurors have been sent to resume deliberations in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial after rehearing testimony from key witnesses.
The 12 jurors reheard portions of testimony given by former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker as well as Michael Cohen.
The jury deliberated for about 4 1/2 hours Wednesday without reaching a verdict. Before day’s end, they asked to rehear testimony from the tabloid publisher, and Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer. On Thursday morning, the judge responded to a jury request by rereading 30 pages of jury instructions related to how inferences may be drawn from evidence.
Trump faces 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
A guilty verdict would deliver a stunning legal reckoning for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee
