Trump found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records, becoming the first U.S. president to be convicted of criminal charges

   30/05/2024  Posted in Business

Donald Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 presidential campaign Thursday in a historic trial that saw a former U.S. president face criminal charges for the first time.

After deliberating over two days, a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts related to a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The prosecution had alleged Daniels was paid to keep secret a 2006 tryst she had with Trump in order to influence the results of the 2016 election, which Trump ultimately won.

Trump’s sentencing has been scheduled for July 11.

The trial lasted a month and a half and was plenty eventful. In addition to the fiery testimonies of Daniels and Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, Trump was held in contempt of court 10 times and fined $10,000 for violating a gag order against attacking people involved with the trial. Many Republican leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, traveled to New York to speak out in support of the 2024 Republican presidential candidate.

Trump, who did not testify in his defense, will appeal the verdict, according to his lawyers. The result may have an impact on Trump’s chances to reclaim the White House, however. Recent Yahoo News/YouGov polling suggested a conviction would hurt Trump in a head-to-head matchup against President Joe Biden.

Below, get live updates on the case, including direct quotes and other details from media reports.

Live111 updates

  • Trump lawyer Todd Blanche: ‘As soon as we can appeal, we will’

    Attorney Todd Blanche (Michael M. Santiago/Pool Photo via AP)

    Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche, who delivered the closing argument for the defense, said in a Thursday interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that the former president would appeal the jury’s guilty verdicts handed down in the hush money trial.

    “As soon as we can appeal, we will,” Blanche said, noting that the defense still had court issues to resolve with Judge Juan Merchan before they would file their appeal.

    While Blanche complimented the jury as hard-working and attentive, he said it was “very hard for us to get a fair trial” because “every single person on that jury knew Donald Trump.”

    Asked whether it was a mistake not to have Trump take the witness stand in his own defense, Blanche noted that it was “ultimately” Trump’s decision.

    “I don’t think there was a conviction because he did not take the stand,” Blanche added.

    As to the prospect that his client could be sentenced to prison by the judge in the case, Blanche continued to defend his client.

    “Somebody like President Trump should never, never face a jail sentence,” he said, adding that he planned to keep working on Trump’s legal team in the other criminal cases in which the former president is charged.

  • Cohen: ‘Donald needed to be held accountable’

    In an interview Thursday on MSNBC, former Trump lawyer and key witness Michael Cohen said he was not surprised by the jury’s guilty verdicts on the 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, and called the case “important” and “legitimate.”

    “Donald needed to be held accountable,” Cohen said of his former boss.

    Asked by MSNBC host Rachel Maddow about the withering attacks on his character by Trump’s lawyers during the trial, Cohen acknowledged that he sometimes got “hot-tempered,” but added that he was able to remain calm during his testimony.

    “I was nervous because so much was riding on the result of this,” Cohen said, while praising the prosecutors who called him to testify despite his past convictions on tax evasion and bank fraud charges.

    Cohen had a less glowing appraisal of Trump lawyer Todd Blanche, who coined the acronym “GLOAT” — greatest liar of all time — to describe Cohen during his closing argument.

    “I was going call him a ‘SLOAT,” Cohen said of Blanche, “the stupidest lawyer of all time.”

    In part, Cohen said, that was because Blanche seemed to base the bulk of Trump’s defense on attacking him.

  • Republican leaders angry at Trump conviction

    Republican leaders reacted with anger Thursday evening at the conviction of former President Donald Trump.

    According to the Associated Press:

    House Speaker Mike Johnson said it was a “shameful day in American history” and the charges were “purely political.” Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance said the verdict was a “disgrace to the judicial system.” And Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, said that the decision was “a defeat for Americans who believe in the critical legal tenet that justice is blind.”

    Read more about the Republican reaction.

  • Video: Trump guilty on all 34 counts in hush money trial — what happens now?

    Yahoo News political reporter Andrew Romano weighs in on what’s next following the guilty verdict against former President Donald Trump, who remains the leading Republican contender for the White House in 2024.

  • Trump to hold press conference Friday morning

    Trump announced on Truth Social that he will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. ET tomorrow at Trump Tower in New York City.

  • Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks after Trump’s guilty verdict

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office brought the 34 felony charges against Trump, delivered a statement following the guilty verdict decided by 12 Manhattan jurors and thanked them for their service.

    “While this defendant may be unlike any other in American history, we arrived at this trial and ultimately today at this verdict in the same manner as every other case that comes through the courtroom doors,” Bragg said.

    When asked by reporters about a potential prison sentence for the former president, Bragg noted that sentencing is set for July 11 but declined to comment further, adding that the hush money case is still ongoing and active.

  • Read the jury’s verdict sheet

    Here is the complete verdict sheet filled out by the jury, indicating the verdicts on each of the 34 felony counts against Trump.

    This embedded content is not available in your region.

  • Photos: Scenes from outside the courthouse

  • Trump donation website back online after reports of it crashing

    The Trump campaign’s online portal to accept donations, run by Republican platform WinRed, reportedly crashed shortly after the guilty verdict came down.

    “So many Americans were moved to donate to President Trump’s campaign that the WinRed pages went down,” the Trump campaign posted on X.

    The website appears to be up and running again, with a picture of Trump’s mug shot from his criminal case in Georgia with “Never Surrender” as the caption.

  • Trump Media shares sink following guilty verdict in hush money case

    Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) fell 9% in after-hours trading following the announcement that a jury had found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, CNN reported.

  • Michael Cohen: ‘Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law’

    Michael Cohen. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

    Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney turned key trial witness in the case against him, responded to the jury’s guilty verdict, per New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi:

    “Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law. While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters. I want to thank my attorneys Danya Perry and Joshua Kolb for their invaluable guidance and support throughout this process,” Cohen, who served jail time for tax evasion and bank fraud, said.

    Cohen’s testimony about paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to buy her silence about an alleged extramarital affair with Trump was at the center of the prosecution’s case.

  • FAQ: Can Trump still run for president? Can he still vote? Here’s what the guilty verdict means

    Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court in his criminal hush money trial on Thursday. (Mark Peterson/Pool via AP)

    Donald Trump has become the first former or sitting U.S. president to be convicted of a felony. In a historic decision, a 12-person Manhattan jury found the former president guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in an effort to disguise a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

    Trump is also the first major party candidate — he’s the 2024 presumptive Republican presidential nominee — to run for president as a convicted felon.

    Judge Juan Merchan scheduled Trump’s sentencing for July 11 at 10 a.m. ET. The judge will then decide whether the former president’s punishment will include prison time, fines, probation or a combination of those.

    Read more from Yahoo News here for the answers to frequently asked questions, like whether Trump can still run for president or if he’ll be allowed to vote for himself in November.

  • Biden campaign responds to Trump verdict

    President Biden’s campaign spokesperson released a statement following Donald Trump’s conviction, according to the New York Times, saying “no one is above the law.”

    “There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box,” Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign’s communications director, told the Times. “Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.”

    The campaign posted a similar statement on X.

  • Bragg marks Trump’s guilty verdict on X

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (NDZ/STAR MAX/IPx via AP)

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the criminal charges against Trump, marked the jury’s guilty verdict in a post on X on Thursday afternoon.

    “Today, a jury found Donald J. Trump GUILTY on ALL 34 felony counts,” Bragg, whose decision to charge Trump had been second-guessed by some legal analysts, wrote.

  • A breakdown of each of the counts against Trump

  • Trump calls trial ‘a disgrace’ after verdict read

    Donald Trump comments to members of the media after being found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree at Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday. (Seth Wenig/Pool via Reuters)

    Speaking from the courthouse after the guilty verdict was announced, Trump said: “This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt.”

    “The real verdict is going to be November 5,” he said, referencing the 2024 election.

    “I’m a very innocent man,” Trump said, claiming he didn’t get a fair trial.

  • Trump to be sentenced on July 11

    Moments after the jury’s guilty verdict was read in court, Judge Juan Merchan announced that Trump would be sentenced on July 11 at 10 a.m.

  • Trump found guilty on all 34 counts

    The former president has been convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records.

    Here’s a breakdown of each of the charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

  • Court is back in session

    Judge Juan Merchan has taken his seat on the beach and the jury is filing into the courtroom.

  • Manhattan district attorney enters the courtroom

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has entered the courtroom, alongside his team of prosecutors, according to reporters in the courtroom.



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