BREAKING: Former President Trump found guilty on all 34 counts in hush money trial
NEW YORK -- Jurors in former President Donald Trump's New York trial reached a verdict around 4:30 p.m. and released their decision of guilty to the public around 5 p.m. Thursday evening.
Former President Trump originally faced 34 counts -- some misdemeanors, some felonies -- in relation to claims that he falsified business records to cover up roughly $130,000 in hush money payments made to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Even guilty, former President Trump will still be qualified to continue his presidential campaign for the upcoming 2024 election, as there is no constitutional rule banning a convicted felon from running for president. That is, unless he faces jail time, which would likely derail his 2024 presidential campaign.
According to Time magazine in regard to Trump facing potential imprisonment, " The decision ultimately lies with Judge Merchan, who is not required to imprison Trump if he’s convicted by a jury."
Sentencing has been scheduled for July 11.
Trump was first arraigned on these charges on April 4 of this year.
"Sad day for America," sad Indiana District 3 Congressman Jim Banks. "Meanwhile Hunter Biden roams free and the most corrupt president in American history sits in the Oval Office."
Indiana District 2 Congressman Rudy Yakym released the following statement after initially declining to comment:
"The Rule of Law had a good 235 year run here in America, but Joe Biden killed it in a bogus, Soviet show trial because he is badly losing in the polls to President Trump. Biden and the Left’s total lust for power and their assaults on democracy are despicable, and must be defeated at the ballot box in November.
“President Trump has already been acquitted in the court of public opinion. Americans overwhelmingly see this sham witchhunt for the blatant political persecution that it is, and this baseless outcome is only going to help President Trump on his way to winning in November and Making America Great Again.”
Winner of the May 7 Republican primary for Indiana Governor Mike Braun released this statement:
"This case was a blatant abuse of our justice system as a political weapon by a radical prosecutor trying to interfere in the election, and the verdict proves that this was just a show trial all along," Braun said. "Trump is going to win in November because Americans are sick of these political games when the price of everything has doubled in four years and the world is at war because of Joe Biden’s weakness and incompetence."
Below is a statement from Biden-Harris 2024 Communications Director Michael Tyler on the verdict:
“In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law. Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.
“The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution, pledging to be a dictator ‘on day one’ and calling for our Constitution to be ‘terminated’ so he can regain and keep power. A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November.”
Florida Governor and failed candidate for the republican nomination for president, Ron DeSantis had this to say:
"Today’s verdict represents the culmination of a legal process that has been bent to the political will of the actors involved: a leftist prosecutor, a partisan judge and a jury reflective of one of the most liberal enclaves in America—all in an effort to “get” Donald Trump.
That this case—involving alleged misdemeanor business records violations from nearly a decade ago—was even brought is a testament to the political debasement of the justice system in places like New York City. This is especially true considering this same district attorney routinely excuses criminal conduct in a way that has endangered law-abiding citizens in his jurisdiction.
It is often said that no one is above the law, but it is also true that no one is below the law. If the defendant were not Donald Trump, this case would never have been brought, the judge would have never issued similar rulings, and the jury would have never returned a guilty verdict. In America, the rule of law should be applied in a dispassionate, even-handed manner, not become captive to the political agenda of some kangaroo court."