Trump Found Guilty on All 34 Counts in Historic Criminal Hush-Money Case

A jury found President Trump guilty of all 34 felony charges of falsifying business records surrounding a hush-money payment made to the adult film actress, Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. This marks the first time a former American president has ever been convicted of a crime. The 12 jurors at a Manhattan courtroom found Trump guilty of all 34 counts, ruling that Trump had conspired to falsify business records about the $130,000 hush money payment, violating campaign finance laws by illegally mis-categorizing the payment when he reimbursed, as president, his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, for the payment.Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court, May 13, 2024, at New York. AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, FileThe Manhattan District Attorney’s office brought the 34 felony counts against Trump, one for each falsified business record. Speaking outside the courtroom, Mr. Trump denounced the verdict and the Manhattan law enforcement figures who brought, prosecuted and oversaw the case.The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, during a news conference February 7, 2023. AP/Seth Wenig, file“Everyone know what happened here…this is a Soros-backed DA,” he said, referring to the liberal billionaire, George Soros, whose charities have directly abd indirectly backed progressive prosecutors across America. “We didn’t do a thing wrong. I’m a very innocent man.”Trump has been convicted of paying his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, to arrange the payment, then falsely categorizing his reimbursement of the payment to Cohen as a legal expense. This, according to the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, violated campaign finance laws.Stormy Daniels testifies on the witness stand as a promotional image for one of her shows featuring an image of Trump is displayed on monitors in Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, at New York. Elizabeth Williams via APThe district attorney argued that Cohen paid Ms. Clifford to prevent her from further publicizing her story of a one-time sexual encounter she claimed to have had with Trump at a celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe in 2006. The conviction is expected to send shockwaves through the American public. What entirely unpredictable is if and how it would effect how people are planning to vote in the 2024 presidential election. Advance polling on the issue has been inconclusive. Stormy Daniels leaves Manhattan Criminal Court on May 09, 2024 at New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesTrump has denied ever having had sex with Ms. Clifford and pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has persistently accused the judge in the case, Juan Merchan, of political bias. What’s next is anyone’s guess. Polling about how a guilty verdict would affect voters’ decisions has been wildly inconclusive. Normally, a conviction of this nature in New York State would not lead to prison time, since Trump has no prior criminal convictions. However, the charges, according to state law, could certainly carry a prison sentence. Mr. Trump is unpopular in Manhattan, and juries and judges in recent civil cases against him were unforgiving. In a case such as this, the convict is usually not imprisoned until a penalty phase has concluded. Trump will likely be barred, however, from leaving the country. A pre-sentencing period will now ensue. Once he has been sentenced, Mr. Trump can appeal the verdict and sentence, together, to a higher court.

Trump Found Guilty on All 34 Counts in Historic Criminal Hush-Money Case

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