Twelve jurors have found former U.S. president Donald Trump guilty on all counts in his hush-money trial in New York, making him the first American president to be convicted of a felony.
The jury announced it had convicted Trump on all 34 counts just after 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, following two days of deliberations behind closed doors.
Trump sat still as jurors were polled, one by one, to confirm the verdict was unanimous. Minutes later, he emerged from the courthouse to speak to reporters gathered outside.
“This was a rigged, disgraceful trial, and the real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people,” he said, referring to the upcoming U.S. presidential election this fall.
“We didn’t do a thing wrong. I’m an innocent man.”
Trump, 77, was charged with falsifying business records in relation to a payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the presidential election in 2016.
Appeal likely
Trump will certainly appeal the verdict, alleging bias and judicial errors, arguing that Judge Juan Merchan sealed Trump’s fate by issuing unfair instructions to the jury. Those appeals could take years to sort out.
In the meantime, Merchan will decide Trump’s short-term fate. Sometime this summer, Merchan will make a sentencing decision. It will likely arrive around the Republican nominating convention in July.
The gamut of potential penalties for this crime is head-spinningly vast: Trump could receive anything from a verbal warning to probation conditions to serious prison time, potentially up to four years for each count.
First, he will be asked to meet with a probation officer in the coming days. That officer will be asked to write a sentencing report for Merchan, including details such as whether Trump shows contrition.
Trump had pleaded not guilty and denied having had the alleged sexual encounter in 2006.
More to come