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Former U.S. President Donald Trump called a New York verdict that he falsified documents to cover up payments to silence porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election a disgrace.
“This is a disgrace. A rigged trial led by a corrupt judge,” Trump said in his first reaction to the verdict.
A New York jury had previously found Trump guilty of all 34 counts, making him the first U.S. president to be convicted. Each count of the indictment required a unanimous decision by the jury. Trump stared at them in the courtroom without blinking as they made their defense.
“I am a very innocent man. The people will announce the real verdict on November 5,” he later said in the corridor of the New York courthouse.
He faces four years in prison
He faces up to four years in prison, but others convicted of such crimes often receive shorter sentences, fines or probation.
The verdict will be announced on July 11. Judge Juan Merchan has given the defense until June 13 to present sentencing arguments and prosecutors until June 27 to respond. Trump will await the outcome in jail.
The ruling thrusts the United States into uncharted territory ahead of the Nov. 5 election, when Republican candidate Trump faces incumbent Democrat Joe Biden.
Biden and Trump are in a close race
Opinion polls show a tight race between Trump and Biden, 81, and a Reuters/Ipsos survey found that a conviction would likely hurt Trump’s support among independent and Republican voters, though it would not prevent him from running for the White House, or even the House, in case he wins.
The former president was found guilty after a five-week trial that included explicit testimony from Stormy Daniels about their 2006 sexual relationship, which Trump denied.
Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen testified in court that the former president approved a $130,000 payment to the porn star in exchange for silence, which was then recorded as a business expense. This occurred in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Joe Biden’s re-election campaign called his opponent a “convicted felon” but acknowledged that would not stop him from running in the election.
“There is still only one way to prevent Trump from entering the White House, and that’s elections,” said Michael Taylor, a Biden campaign spokesman.
Republicans: Today is a shameful day in American history
Trump’s fellow Republicans were quick to condemn the ruling. “Today is a shameful day in American history,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a prepared statement.
Trump faces three other criminal trials on charges of trying to overturn the election results and obtaining classified documents from the White House, but this is the only one that will be completed before the Nov. 5 election because the others have been delayed for procedural reasons.
In all cases, Trump has proclaimed his innocence and claimed that the Joe Biden administration is politically persecuting him, but he has not provided any evidence, Shiner wrote.
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