In a spectacle that shocked the nation, Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony. A jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal alleged affairs during his 2016 campaign. The conviction struck a harsh blow to a man who had eluded criminal scrutiny for decades, unable to evade a guilty verdict in the very city that had once been the springboard for his rise to power.
Despite this conviction, Trump was not barred from running for the presidency again. His status as the presumptive Republican nominee was firmly intact, setting the stage for an unprecedented scenario in American politics. His sentencing date was set for July 11, just days before he was to be officially declared the Republican candidate at the National Convention.
Outside the courtroom, Trump denounced the trial as rigged and disgraceful. “The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people, and they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here,” he declared, defiantly vowing to continue his political fight.
The Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, whose office had brought the case against Trump, remained tight-lipped about whether they would seek jail time for the former president. “The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury. And the jury has spoken,” Bragg said, standing firm on the integrity of the judicial process.
Judge Juan Merchan, who had overseen the contentious trial, endured a torrent of attacks from Trump. After the jury delivered their verdict, Judge Merchan expressed his gratitude to them personally, acknowledging the weight of their decision.
The 12 New Yorkers who served on the jury reached their verdict after roughly 11 hours of deliberation. The announcement of the verdict sent gasps echoing through the courtroom. Trump, sitting stone-faced, barely moved, his gaze occasionally shifting to the jury.
The charges against Trump revolved around reimbursements he made to Michael Cohen, his former fixer, who had paid $130,000 to a porn actor to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump just days before the 2016 election. Prosecutors detailed 11 invoices from Cohen, 12 general ledger entries, and 11 checks from Trump, arguing that each represented a lie in New York business records. They contended that the hush money payment was part of a broader “catch-and-kill” scheme to suppress damaging stories about Trump, violating state and federal election laws.
Over four weeks of testimony, prosecutors constructed a compelling narrative. They called on top campaign aides, Trump Organization employees, and star witnesses like Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels to testify against Trump. The trial captivated the nation, playing out moment by moment on cable news, even without cameras inside the courtroom. Trump’s legal battles became a central theme of his campaign, his time spent in the gritty, wood-paneled courtroom in Lower Manhattan serving as a stark reminder of the tumultuous intersection of his business and political lives.
As the country braced for the fallout of this historic conviction, the political landscape was more uncertain than ever. With Trump poised to continue his run for the presidency, the nation faced uncharted waters, wondering how this unprecedented chapter in American history would unfold.
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