Guilty on all counts, Donald Trump becomes first US president convicted
of a crime
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[May 31, 2024]
By Luc Cohen, Jack Queen and Andy Sullivan
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to be
convicted of a crime on Thursday when a New York jury found him guilty
of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a porn star
ahead of the 2016 election.
After two days of deliberation, the 12-member jury pronounced Trump
guilty on all 34 felony counts he faced.
Trump watched the jurors dispassionately as they were polled to confirm
the unanimous verdict.
Justice Juan Merchan set sentencing for July 11, just days before the
Republican Party is scheduled to formally nominate Trump for president
ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
The crime of falsifying business documents carries a maximum sentence of
four years in prison, though those convicted often receive shorter
sentences, fines or probation. Incarceration would not legally prevent
him from campaigning, or taking office if he were to win.
He will not be jailed ahead of sentencing.
The verdict plunges the United States into unexplored territory ahead of
the November vote, when Trump will try to win back the White House from
Democratic President Joe Biden.
Trump, 77, has denied wrongdoing and an attorney representing him said
they would appeal as quickly as possible.

"This was a disgrace," Trump told reporters afterwards as he proclaimed
his innocence and repeated his complaints that the trial had been rigged
against him.
"The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people," he said.
Trump gave a thumbs-up sign through the tinted window of his SUV as his
motorcade left the courthouse. Trump supporters stood in a park opposite
the courthouse along with journalists, police and onlookers.
Opinion polls show Trump and Biden, 81, locked in a tight race, and
Reuters/Ipsos polling has found that a guilty verdict could cost Trump
some support among independent and Republican voters.
The case had been widely regarded as the least consequential of the four
criminal prosecutions Trump faces. But the verdict looms large now as it
is likely to be the only one before the election with the others delayed
by procedural challenges.
The jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business documents after
sitting through a five-week courtroom presentation that featured
explicit testimony from porn star Stormy Daniels about a sexual
encounter she says she had with Trump in 2006 while he was married to
his current wife Melania. Trump denies ever having sex with Daniels.
Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen testified that Trump approved a
$130,000 hush money payment to Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016
election, when Trump faced multiple accusations of sexual misbehavior.
Cohen testified that he handled the payment, and that Trump approved a
plan to reimburse him through monthly payments disguised as legal work.
Trump's lawyers hammered Cohen's credibility, highlighting his criminal
record and imprisonment and his history of lying. Merchan also cautioned
jurors to examine his testimony carefully.
The relatively short amount of time jurors needed to reach a verdict was
a sign that they thought there was enough evidence to back up Cohen's
testimony, said George Grasso, a retired New York judge who attended the
trial.
A source familiar with the Trump campaign's inner workings said the
verdict was expected to prompt him to intensify deliberations on picking
a woman as his vice presidential running mate. His campaign website
labeled him a "political prisoner" and urged supporters to donate.
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Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court,
Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. Seth Wenig/Pool via REUTERS

BIDEN CAMPAIGN: NO ONE ABOVE THE LAW
Biden's campaign said the verdict showed that no one was above the
law and urged voters to reject Trump in the election.
"There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval
Office: at the ballot box," the campaign said in a statement.
The White House declined to comment.
Trump's fellow Republicans quickly condemned the verdict. "Today is
a shameful day in American history," House of Representatives
Speaker Mike Johnson said in a prepared statement.
The jury notified the court they had reached a verdict at 4:20 p.m.
(2020 GMT) and the foreperson read out all 34 guilty counts shortly
after 5 p.m.
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche asked Merchan to throw out the guilty
verdict, arguing that it was based on the unreliable testimony of
Cohen. Merchan denied his request.
A Trump appeal is likely to focus on porn star Daniels' salacious
testimony about their alleged sexual encounter as well as the novel
legal theory prosecutors used in the case, but he faces long odds,
legal experts said.
"We are going to appeal as quickly as we can. We will seek expedited
review of this case," Trump attorney Will Scharf told Fox News.
As a standalone crime, falsifying business documents is normally a
misdemeanor in New York, but prosecutors in Manhattan District
Attorney Alvin Bragg's office elevated it to a felony on grounds
that Trump was concealing an illegal campaign contribution.
They had the burden of proving Trump guilty "beyond a reasonable
doubt," the standard under U.S. law.
"We did our job. (There are) many voices out there. The only voice
that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken,"
Bragg said.
Jurors heard testimony of sex and lies that have been public since
2018, although the charges themselves rested on ledger accounts and
other records of Cohen's reimbursement.
It was known as the "zombie case" because Bragg brought it back to
life after his predecessor opted not to bring charges.

If elected, Trump could shut down the two federal cases that accuse
him of illegally trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and
mishandling classified documents after leaving office in 2021. He
would not have the power to stop a separate election-subversion case
taking place in Georgia.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in all the cases, and has portrayed his
various legal troubles as an effort by Biden's Democratic allies to
hurt him politically.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jack Queen in New York and Andy Sullivan
in Washington; Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Stephanie
Kelly and Kanishka Singh in Washington, Jonathan Allen in New York
and Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Noeleen Walder and
Howard Goller)
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